In Other Situations
by Kuroneko Hikage
Summary: Sometimes, in a relationship, excitement keeps the flame alive, and in other situations, it stimulates the senses over and over again. Ichigo x Gin x Toshiro. AU. Happy Birthday, QueenOfCitrus!
1. Chapter 1

Title: In Other Situations  
Author: Me  
Rating: M  
Pairing: Ichigo x Gin x Toushiro  
Warnings: Sex. Language. Yaoi. Threesome. AU. PWP.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach... unfortunately. -Sniffle-  
Summary: Sometimes, in a relationship, excitement keeps the flame alive, and in other situations, it stimulates the senses over and over again.  
AN: A happy birthday fic to QueenOfCitrus! (Sorry, it's so late! -Bows-)

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Sometimes, in a relationship, excitement keeps the flame alive. Oftentimes, that excitement is a one-time thing. In other situations, it stimulates the senses over and over again, and on the rarest occasion, that excitement grows like a tumor. It starts as merely lust, something new, different, and curious enough to warrant exploring. Then the addiction sets in, and sooner or later, the relationship can't survive without it.

"Is that him?"

"Yep! Cute, ain't he?"

"I suppose..."

"Aw, c'mon, Shiro-chan! Don'tcha wanna have fun t'night?"

"How many times do I have to yell at you to stop calling me that?!"

"Seriously, where's yer sense of adventure?"

"Back at the apartment, in my other pair of jeans."

"Now yer jus' bein' sarcastic."

"You could tell?"

Gin pouted, his normal fox-grin down-turned at his boyfriend's annoying pessimism. No, that was the wrong word, he was annoyed at his sarcasm, and the proverbial stick that seemed to shove its way up his ass whenever he wasn't in it himself. "Don't ya have any trust in me, Toshiro?"

Toshiro rolled his jade eyes and gave a snort. "He looks... unavailable."

The man they were referring to was tall, muscled, tanned, and dancing with a busty, redheaded bimbo attached to his hip. And while the both of them found his wild orange hair, dark, provocative eyes and toned body to be quite attractive, the shorter man had to wonder about his boyfriend's choice in what seemed to be a straight man. He shouldn't be surprised, it was typical of his lover to want to turn someone over to what he jokingly calls "the dark side," but one of these days he was going to get a punch in the face for being so bold. Toshiro wasn't going to save him, though. Sure, he'd be the doting boyfriend and patch him up after the inevitable beating, but it would be Gin's fault in the first place, and that was something that he had to admit he would find extremely amusing.

Gin's smile came back, as if he were expecting that retort. Light on his feet, he pushed himself off the wall and held out an inviting hand for Toshiro, intent on whisking him away into the fray. "Then let me show ya what the power of persuasion can achieve."

He had a right mind to ignore him, the image of the bastard all beaten up a slight turn-off, but as he looked back over to their prey, he couldn't stop his curiosity from rising. Why did Gin pick this guy? Usually his assumptions and hunches were dead on, more so than Toshiro's, but this just baffled him. And what does a genius do when his curiosity is peaked? Hoping he wouldn't regret it, sooner or later, his hand slid into Gin's, and before he knew it, he was allowing his boyfriend to pull him into the flow of jumping, grinding bodies.

They had talked about this for days, weeks even, and now that the moment was finally here, his heart wouldn't stop racing. He felt slightly awkward, considering Gin was the only person he'd ever been with, but he was committed to this. Hell, he might even come to like this arrangement, much like his lover. As a one-year anniversary gift, they had promised to give each other one sexual fantasy, as a sign of trust, and to spice things up for a change. Gin had already given him a weekend of sex in a hot spring resort. It was time for him to honor his wish, with another person in their bed. As long as the person didn't have any diseases, he would be okay with that, and he didn't have to worry about getting a girl knocked up. Not for the first time, he took a moment and thanked his father for giving him the Y chromosome, and the cosmos for blessing him with the appreciation for his own gender. It also helped that he was slightly drunk. Not enough to get him plastered, but enough to loosen up his choices and affect his thinking.

Swept away into the massive crowd, the lovers melted together as they sensually danced with each other to the laid back, yet still upbeat tempo. Everything was random, done on a pure whim, without a care in the world. If Toshiro wanted to grind against his lover's pelvis, he'd do so. If Gin wanted to run a hand under his shirt, he'd let him. Heavy bass music thundered out of the overhead speakers, with a drifting melody, and the only other instruments heard were electric and synthetic. They took a moment to get into each others head, to connect not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and lustfully. It was going to take some very dirty flirtation to grab the redhead's attention, and even if they failed, it's not like Toshiro didn't mind his boyfriend's hands all over him.

Deciding to spice things up since their intrigue was right next to them, Toshiro grabbed and pulled Gin's deep red tank down, a color that would match his eyes if or when he chose to open them, and gave one of his exposed nipples a long, sensual lick. In response, Gin let a calloused hand dip into his pants, giving the smaller man's butt a squeeze of appreciation for the attention on his chest. But it didn't stop there, the favors kept coming, and each one was sure to get anyone off on it, or at least whoever was watching, which would be the people in their immediate vicinity, and that included the redhead. Toshiro honestly wasn't even paying attention anymore as hands grew bolder with their wandering, and kisses grew wilder with tongues and teeth. Random people came and went, dancing against them briefly, but in the end, the pair was in their own little world.

At first, neither man was aware enough to notice when he came up to them, caught up in themselves like a pair of mating snakes. They were somewhat oblivious to the crowd, not bothered at all and taking everyone's wandering limbs as a sort of compliment. When school and work permitted them some free time to actually be a couple, this was one of the frequent places they liked. The bartenders knew them well, and there were a few noticeable faces in the crowd that had become their friends. All was fair in fun and games here, so it didn't hit them right away that the palms snaking up Toshiro's back and resting on Gin's shoulders were completely unfamiliar. The taller of the two was the first to welcome those hands, sliding his own onto the stranger's waist and tugging that body flush against Toshiro's back.

The petite man leaned his head back against the sturdy chest, lifting his chin so he could see what was going on above him. To most, it would be considered an odd angle, but to him it was the most beautiful, arousing view he'd ever seen in his entire life, a moment where time played out in slow motion. He hadn't experienced one of these since the first time he'd laid eyes on Gin, and now, this mysterious, orange-haired Adonis was leaning over him, meeting the silver-haired man in front of him halfway in a deep, sensual, almost meaningful kiss. And Toshiro could see every detail, as if it were in hi-def resolution. Their lips locked firmly, forceful and determined to let whatever happens stay spontaneous. Their tongues worked, the balls of their throats bobbing and tensing as their kiss took a sloppy and passionate turn. Toshiro could feel their erections pressing into his ass and groin, and combined with the visual stimulation, he was able to admit to himself that there was a strange allure beginning to build up in his head. Seeing his lover kissing someone else whom was just as sexy was getting his heart beating faster by the second. One of those tanned hands traveled from Gin's shoulder to Toshiro's chest and tweaked a nipple. The moan that followed was swallowed up by the loud music, but not before it reached the two sets of ears above him.

Their lips separated, and Toshiro could see a string of saliva glinting in the dim light that still connected them, growing ever thinner until it broke apart, leaving a trail down their chins. Brown and red irides glanced at him with intensity, and he knew, without further doubt, one or both or all three of them were going to feel tonight's activities in the morning. They were going to take this man into their apartment and drive him to the brink of madness with an entire night of mind-blowing sex. Or perhaps he or Gin will reach insanity first, he didn't know. This wildcard was untamed and unpredictable, and he loved it. The lust, the passion, the mystery of this person, everything was making him feel as if he were high, like a recovered addict getting his first hit after months of being clean. He wanted to go home. He wanted to take Gin and this stranger home, do unspeakable things to them, watch them do those same things to each other, and maybe even fall asleep tangled together, inside each other...

Those vibrant red eyes told him that Gin understood what he was feeling, that it was what he had been feeling for a long time, and that he was glad Toshiro didn't hate him for it, but accepted him, and this person was to be shared between them, a treat for them to enjoy after learning to get comfortable with their relationship. It hasn't always been hugs and flowers, but they made it work, surprising the one-year limit everyone else placed on them with an anniversary party a week ago. To most, that's not long, but understandably for them, it's felt longer.

Needing the space and privacy of their home, because despite how kinky Toshiro might call Gin, both still weren't brave enough for publicly displaying something that heavy. They invited the man to go with them, and were satisfied when he took them up on that offer. Their apartment was a flat on the top floor, an open structure with overhead lighting in the wooden beams of their ceiling, and no walls separating their kitchen, living and dining rooms. There were steps leading up to a platform, where a bedroom and bathroom branched off, and an entire wall of glass windows showing off an impressive view of the city. Too bad the view wasn't the first thing on anyone's mind.

On the way there, the trio had trouble keeping their hands, groins and mouths away from each other. In the elevator was the worst, as another full-blown make-out session broke out, this time between Toshiro and their guest, while Gin made himself busy with an exposed, tanned neck. The entrance to the abode was all but flung open as three, interlocked bodies shoved through, trying to stay linked while walking over the threshold, continuing with their tryst from the elevator. All of them were breathing heavily, eyes lidded over with lust and eagerness, and their brains so fogged over they almost forgot to shut the door.

Coats and shoes were flung to the floor before they proceeded any further, half dragging themselves to the bedroom, nestled in the back of the apartment. The nickle tour would have to wait, it didn't take a genius or two to figure out that sex was just a little more important right now. Toshiro snorted with slight amusement, trying to smoother his laughter as Gin, who couldn't wait any longer, tackled the redhead, pinning him to the hard wooden floor. Gin was tugging at his shirt, jerking it up to reveal a smooth, tanned stomach, chest and dark nipples, until a pair of shapely arms impeded his progress. Grateful when the arms lifted, allowing him to pull it off the rest of the way, he threw it somewhere behind them, not daring to look away from the eye-candy in front of him to find out. The only one that was standing walked over to them, grabbing tanned wrists as Gin was distracted by a shirtless sight, intended to pull him to his feet. The stranger slid a little out from under the silver-haired man by his jeans, but still remained on the floor with a questioning gaze. Gin came out of his trance, his pale arms flowing like water as he easily maneuvered out of his tank and throwing it to join with the other, not bothering to get up from his knelt position over jean-clad legs.

Rolling around onto his knees, the tackled man tried to get up off the floor, the wooden surface not a very comfortable place to make out. Toshiro knew first hand what he was thinking and tried to help him up, stealing a few kisses of his own, but his plans were thwarted as Gin grabbed the back edge of his pants and pulled him back down, away from Toshiro's lip, before digging into his pockets. Confused, both men looked on as Gin held up his prize: a brown wallet.

"And the flavor of the day is..." He opened the wallet and peered inside. It was quiet for a moment, until he let out a small chuckle. "Strawberry?"

Interested in why he called their guest a type of fruit and curious beyond hell to figure out why the fruit was blushing, Toshiro edged around the fallen strawberry to take a look. Indeed, while the Kanji was meant for something different, the phonics of Ichigo's name could still imply it. Shifting, the orange-top crossed his arms in front of his chest and snubbed them with a lift of his nose.

"Ichi means one, and go means to protect. There's nothing there about strawberries."

Gin snorted in annoyance, shrugging off his defensive comment as he flung the wallet over his shoulder, taking in a sort of morbid fascination as Ichigo glanced worriedly over to where it fell open on the floor by their shoes with a soft thud. "I dunno... Ya taste like berry ta me. Ne, Toshiro?"

"Whatever." He just wanted to get them in bed, because right now Toshiro was wired, and once again he went back to tugging on Ichigo's wrists to get him to stand. "Don't get left behind, Gin. I might lock you out of the bedroom, then you would have no choice but to watch through the door's tiny window."

That was all the motivation he needed. Gin quickly got to his feet and ran over to him, picking Toshiro up by the waist and hoisting him over his shoulders in easy motion, as if he were as easy to carry as a bag of potatoes. Spiky white hair flew as his head shook, trying to grasp the sudden shift of up from down as the blood rushed to his head, but he was given no time to voice his complaints or questions, as once again he was flopped back over the shoulder and onto the bed. The red and black covers bounced as the mattress cushioned his fall. In a blink of an eyelash, Gin was gone, presumably to get Ichigo and carry him in here as well, and Toshiro was left alone with his thoughts. He didn't really want to think right now, or he might second-guess himself on this threesome situation, so instead he took his time to unbutton and remove his shirt, flinging it at the doorway.

His timing and aim were stellar, as the blue material caught a head of chaotic orange, and came to rest on a shirtless figure that was bent over his shoulder. It was a comedic sight watching Gin struggle with Ichigo in much the same way Toshiro had done so just a few minutes prior with Gin. Karma was a bitch, and since it wasn't him, it was hilarious. Gin was flopped onto the bed next to him, also making it bounce as it absorbed the impact of his weight. Both were unhappy that Ichigo was the only one left standing, though, so they took a moment to glance at each other to confirm they were thinking the same thing before they took action.

They sprang forward and pulled him headfirst onto the bed by his arms. With a soft "oof," the redhead's face-plant into the covers didn't phase him much, and he quickly recovered, rolling onto his back and welcoming the double-teamed attack that immediately followed. Once again, lips and hands were all over every available inch of skin showing. Toshiro straddled Ichigo's stomach as he focused his attention on his caramel lips, something that tasted very sweet, almost like he'd tasted it before in a candy bar, a flavor that had meaning to him at one point in his life as a little kid. He tried to pin down that feeling as he tasted those lips, to associate Ichigo with this flavor from now on. Every time he took a swipe with his tongue, images of a caramelized Ichigo swam in his head growing fuzzier the harder he tried not to focus on them, so all he could do was just enjoy the pleasant buzz he got out of the kiss. Until he was yanked back by his hips so harshly he slid on his knees a few inches.

Looking behind him confirmed the reason why he was being so violently manhandled, Gin was trying to get rid of his pants. Ichigo lifted his hands to help, smoothing over the skin of the smaller man's back until they dipped into the extra space between his butt and the material of his pockets. Teal eyes glazed over as those large hands kneaded the skin of his buttocks, and he let out an appreciative moan as the treatment massaged muscles he didn't even know he had. He leaned into those hands, doing absolutely nothing to stop Gin's nimble fingers from fumbling around with the clasp and zipper before he finally was able to get the material loose enough to fall down to his mid-thigh.

Groaning as the kneading became a little rougher, the pleasure going straight to his groin, Toshiro did not expect a bite to the inside of his right ass cheek, and while it was embarrassing to let out such a high-pitched squeak, he couldn't help but like the surprise. Gin's teeth were slightly pointed, and the sharp pleasure of the bite felt like it had on any other part of his body: blissful. The were bites all over his ass, some merely small love nips, while others lured a bit of blood to bead up onto the surface, and the pain sent his body writhing and shuddering with need; need for more roughness, need for the taste of these two in his mouth, and a need for someone to just fuck the living daylights out of him already! And those hands weren't helping! Instead, they started to massage the globes of his ass to the side, away from his center, and he braced himself for what he accurately assumed Gin was going to do next. A warm, wet, and well-controlled muscle slithered into his crack, and Toshiro could not, would not, stop the deep moan as the tongue drew a line of saliva up the middle of his rear before poking teasingly at his entrance. His whole body shivered at the intense heat pooling in his stomach, coiling tightly down into his balls, and he leaned down to rest his head against Ichigo's chest, blinding his vision of the world and letting his ass stick up slightly in the air as he tried to get a hold on his out-of-control hormones.

Unable to resist himself, Gin slapped him across an exposed thigh, just above where the hem of his jeans were firmly holding his legs prisoner, and a foxy smirk triumphantly spread when a moan reverberated around the room. He slapped him again, this time catching one of Ichigo's hands, but rather than scold Gin for - accidental or not - slapping his hand, those tanned hands joined in, placing a red hand print right in the middle of a cheek, letting the sound of his force echo just how hard he'd hit him. He then kneaded and slapped Toshiro's ass, alternating the two when he got too bored of just one, and really getting off on the sinful sounds coming out of that mouth, which had attached itself to his nipple. Narrowed red eyes took pleasure in watching Toshiro's butt ripple as it absorbed each hit, turning at first pink, then a shameful red as Ichigo hit the same places over and over again.

Leaving them to continue, Gin headed out to find the lubrication. Normally it was on top of the bedside table, though not today, which was odd because it was always there, even if they defiled random surfaces with sex throughout the entire apartment, the little squeeze tube somehow always found its way back by the bed. Gin had a sneaky suspicion Toshiro's inner neat-freak did it normally, but considering there was nothing there, the neat freak and overlooked a minor detail. Must have gone of vacation, because he knew that Toshiro would never miss something like that. He was always adamant about their apartment looking spiffy when they had guests. As he meandered out of the bedroom and into wide, open space of the rest of the flat, he took notice that Toshiro's cries and Ichigo's slaps echoed like music through the great-room and kitchen. He never knew this place had such great acoustics, and he made several mental notes about it for some devious planning later.

Gin wandered over to the couch, the last known place they'd vitiated, and search the pillows and cushions. Nothing. He searched the chairs in the same manner. Nothing. Not really knowing where else to look, he went to the kitchen, and only had to look around for a few seconds before he spotted the item on the stove. Frowning, he posed to think about why this would be here, Propping his chin on a closed fist and supporting his elbow with his other hand when... Devil horns popped out of his head as dirty thoughts popped in with them, all of them rated in the triple-x category and above. That kinky bitch... He made a mental note to install a few cameras in the house, invigorated with the prospect of catching his lover in the act of doing something unspeakably perverted while he was away, before making his way back to their platformed bedroom.

Where was his camera when he needed it? There, on the bed, their positions hadn't changed much, but their activities took a turn for the smutty, and he almost wanted to do nothing more than watch. Ichigo was still on his back, but Toshiro had moved further down the length of his body, his head buried in his crotch, which was now out in the open and free of the pants that were now bound around his ankles. The hands that had spanked his lover now resided in that soft, white hair, the tightness of his grip depending on just how hard that warm mouth sucked. Upon closer inspection, Gin could see those hips straining to keep still, as if it were taking all of his control not to thrust into his lover's mouth. That restraint needed fixing.

Setting the tube down onto the night stand, Gin crawled onto bed, taking a brief moment to take in the view of Toshiro pushing that wide cock deep into his throat, humming slightly to rack a shiver across Ichigo's skin, his nipples and muscles twitching with spasms, even though pale hands were already holding down Ichigo's thighs, but it wasn't enough to keep them completely immobile. Tanned hips raised off the mattress in order to either thrust deeper into that throat, which Gin found impossible since he was buried to the hilt already, or to ejaculate his climax, which Gin also found unlikely, considering the tight, claw-like hold Toshiro had on his balls.

Gin leaned forward, catching Ichigo's mouth with his own and successfully coaxing his tongue to come out and play. For someone so adamant about not tasting so sweet, he sure tasted like caramel, and the silver-haired man found it to be the most arousing flavor he'd ever tasted next to Toshiro's vanilla spice.

Ichigo broke away to catch his breath and try to control himself. "That's no fair... ganging up on me!"

"Aw... Dun be like that, Berry..." Ichigo's glare was lost on him. He had had too much experience ignoring Toshiro's. "We just wanna make sure ya're included... Dun tell me ya wanna just sit in the corner an' watch?" That orange head of hair shook a denial at the underlying threat of those words. "I didn't think so..."

Red eyes glanced behind him to see that Toshiro had let Ichigo's hard, thick, and now sopping wet arousal go, making it stand as erect as it could on its own while abused throat gasped for air. It was a breath-taking sight, his eyes half-lidded with sensuality, the dribble of saliva slowly making a trail down his neck, and his flushed face a healthy shade of lustrous red. Both men were in awe of the alluring creature in front of them and their sudden interest in him took him by surprise.

Gin moved the fastest, grabbing Toshiro's spiky hair close to his scalp and forcing him forward in a deep kiss, while Ichigo was only a fraction of a second behind, grabbing the lubrication forgotten on the stand and crawling around until he was behind them. Toshiro's arms were wrapped around Gin's shoulders, fingernails digging moon marks into his back as he tried to steady himself on his knees, the sheets twisted worse among their feet. Gin worked on getting his pants unbuttoned, sliding them and Toshiro's completely off, Toshiro's being a little harder because they were leather. But after freeing the both of them, he rolled, laying Toshiro on the flat of his back and pinning their joint hands beside his head.

Toshiro could not help the provocative sounds coming out of his mouth as the man above him began to generously lavish his nipples with his tongue and teeth, sucking them into pert attention. Gin's legs widened their stance, pushing Toshiro's own legs further apart, and the youngest didn't know what was in store for him until it was too late. With Gin's distraction, he never saw it coming, and thus unprepared when Ichigo reached between them, between their legs from behind, and pressed a slick finger against Toshiro's ass until it popped knuckle-deep inside. He also added to Gin's distraction with his own, a grip on Toshiro's stiff arousal, squeezing just enough to warrant a cry of both pain and relief.

Using that to his advantage, Ichigo fast began to pump that finger in and out, going a little deeper each time, searching for a spot that would allow Toshiro to relax his muscles enough to add another finger and stretch him further. That spot was revealed only moments later, when he'd pressed his finger in as far as it could go and angled to the left. The boy's entire nervous system fried as hot pleasure raced across his body, arching his back off the bed and pressing into Gin's while his voice cracked on a high-pitched groan. Ichigo smirked. Bingo. Toshiro glared at the man, ignoring Gin's snickering, and silently promised him retribution for that little stunt. But for some reason, Ichigo was immune to his stare, and proceeded to jam his finger into the same spot, succeeding in getting Toshiro's eyes to roll up into his eyelids and flopping his head back onto the pillow, finally letting go and just enjoying the sensation.

Wanting in on more the action, Gin let those pale wrists go and climbed off that small body, only to re-position himself one-hundred and eighty degrees, his dick dangling in front of Toshiro's face as he slides his tongue across the slit in Toshiro's adequately weeping shaft. Toshiro wrapped a hand around Gin's cock, trying to anchor himself to something as his nether regions were overloaded with that tongue licking over every inch of him, intruding fingers pumping into him, and feather-light touches tingling down his sides and thighs. The stimulation was overwhelming, and he could only count the seconds to his immanent end if they didn't stop soon.

But they did stop, everything paused in mid action, and once Toshiro was able to catch his breath and slow his heartbeat from the threat of that blinding climax, he peered down the length of his body to see what digressed them away from him. That was a simple answer: each other. They were kissing, and even though he was underneath them, if he tilted his head to the side, he'd have a perfect view.

Ichigo had grabbed Gin's hair, tilted his head as far back as it would go, and fused their lips together. Toshiro could see their tongues molesting each other, trying to fight for dominance over the messy kiss, teeth nipping each time they withdrew for a breath. One of Gin's hands came to rest on Ichigo's neck, teasing his Adam's apple with his nails, trying to gain the upper hand by using slight pain to make the other hesitate in any way. But it only solidified Ichigo, made him assured, confident, and rougher. The hand that wasn't buried in silver hair came up to tweak and pinch a nipple, harshly and mercilessly, pulling the nub hard enough for Gin to gasp and let him plunder that mouth further. With every obstruction gone, Ichigo was free to suck as much as he wanted on that tongue, or fill it with his own.

Toshiro stared at the scene, momentarily struck immobile at the powerful display they were putting on, and when he had readjusted his grip on Gin's arousal hanging near his face, he could see a shudder rippling through his body. He tugged on it again, and Gin's moan was swallowed up with Ichigo's mouth. He pulled on it several more times, each one a little harder as Gin's moans increased in both frequency and volume.

Gin would not do anything to break this up, completely swept up in the pleasure of these two males, moving his hips into Toshiro's hand, opening his mouth as wide as he could for Ichigo's tongue. He was so immersed in a vat of bliss, he didn't notice Toshiro moving, shifting his body to stretch up so that his teeth could slightly graze the head of his penis, sending Gin's already fuzzy mind swirling further down to insanity. Or maybe that was the lack of oxygen, as when Ichigo pulled away he found himself gasping, and his head clearing. Did he just almost asphyxiate by kiss? He couldn't bring himself to care. If he did die of pleasure, would that be such a terrible way to go?

A lick to his balls made his legs quiver and he had to push himself back to avoid sitting on Toshiro's face. He leaned against the headboard, legs wide open and his head falling back and he tried to get himself together. Toshiro had never been like that with him, had never taken charge with him. Despite how much he loved fucking him, his other half had no interest in turning the tables around, so this was a treat for him. Gin got chills and masturbated while he thought of being dominated, and he was finally able to experience it a little further with Ichigo here. He briefly entertained the idea that maybe, just maybe, they could keep Ichigo around, be it for just amusement, or just making him part of their relationship. Was it possible for someone to fall in love from just one night of sex? If he had to answer right at this very moment, he would have no troubles saying yes. That kiss was the doom to his downfall.

His eyes were coaxed open when a hand drifted down the side of his sweaty face, in time to see Toshiro straddling his hip, continuing to run that hand down the middle of his chest and stomach, an eyebrow raised as he looked looked up at his lover's blissful face with amusement. "Have you come back to us, yet?"

Gin nodded, bringing a hand up to rub the spine of Toshiro's back as that grinning mouth lowered to kiss his collar bone, allowing the taller man to see what Ichigo was doing behind him. Once again, that tube of lubrication, ironically flavored strawberry if he remembered correctly, was in his hands as he crawled towards them graceful as a cat on all fours, muscles in his limbs and back shifting as he made a slow show of it. It made for a sensual image when he started kissing Toshiro's back in seemingly random places, while slicking Gin's cock with the lube. His head hit the backboard once more as Ichigo started to tease Toshiro's entrance with the tip of Gin's arousal, and the groan of pure ecstasy left him when Toshiro complied with Ichigo's silent demand. Ever-so-slowly, his lover pushed against Gin's cock until first his head, then his entire length, was completely encased inside of his quivering little hole.

Ichigo plastered himself to Toshiro's back, also within the ring of Gin's legs, and the shorter male relaxed onto Gin's cock, finding himself to be quite comfortable with the long appendage filling his ass. The slick chest behind him actually gave his back a little support, and he leaned into it, allowing space to grow between his and Gin's chest as his legs braced themselves against the headboard. He felt Ichigo's hands cup the cheeks of his ass, and he could anticipate what was going to come next. A hot mouth latched onto his neck, sucking intensely, and he threaded a hand into orange hair, the other pressing against the pale chest in front of him, as he braced himself for the next sensation to overcome the three of them.

Ichigo lifted the small body up with little effort, muscles in his arms bulging to adjust to the sudden resistance the friction of ass and cock made, until Gin's length was a straight line, with only the tip of the head still buried between those ass cheeks. Toshiro's thighs tensed with effort and he attempted to keep his composure, his hand tightening in their hold on his hair as Ichigo lowered him down, and one leg couldn't help but lash out to the side as Gin's cock hit home onto the same spot Ichigo was banging with his finger earlier. As soon and the whites of his eyes rolled to allow his vision to return, and as soon as his chest wasn't heaving like crazy, Ichigo did it again, pulling him off Gin's lap, and slowly letting him slide back down, letting him land again so that Gin's cock was a sturdy pole striking right where it counted, solid and slick against the nerves that sent his body tumbling with shudders. It was so intense, Toshiro had to slump forward to get a hold of himself so he didn't spill himself all over their stomachs so soon. The mouth sucking and licking his ear coaxed him into sitting up again, and he felt more hands on his waist as Gin supported him, and helped lift him back in the air. However, when he came back down, it was a lot faster than before, almost free-falling, and the cock inside him hit the nerves harder, so hard, he thought he actually blacked out for a moment, a scream that sounded suspiciously like his own voice tore through the air, and his entire bone structure rattled with the force in rapturous delight.

Soon, Ichigo no longer had to lift him up. He was still plastered to his back, but Ichigo's hands now wandered up and down his sides as Gin held his hips firmly in place so he could pump a steady rhythm into his stretched hole, making him bounce every time their hips met, until Ichigo pressed against Toshiro's back, gluing him to Gin's chest so they had a hard time moving, but still connected. Gin and Toshiro couldn't see anything but orange hair as he bent further down, but they weren't left wondering for long. Ichigo's mouth sucked and played with Gin's balls, before traveling his tongue up the underside of his length until it disappeared into Toshiro's ass, but he didn't stop there. He pressed his tongue as flat as he could against Toshiro's flesh, and trailed saliva up the crack of his ass. The effect of that entire action? Gin and Toshiro's combined moans filling the room. Experiment: successful.

The bodies in front of him were trembling, it was a very beautiful sight. Perhaps he found a place for himself. Maybe not a place of love, but maybe that's for the better, considering the number of times that emotion had screwed him over. Maybe he would never amount to anything more a good friend to screw from time to time. It was definitely a change from twenty-four hours ago, one his other friends would not be happy with, but he was just so damn tired of trying. Seeing this striking couple in the club had catered to a few kinky fantasies in his head, and then when they allowed him a night of passion at their place, how could he resist? Ichigo always had a sixth sense about people, and he could tell that they weren't drug addicts or dealers. Prostitution was highly unlikely, as well as gang members and illegal arms dealers. Although they weren't famous, this loft hinted they were well-off, and very open-minded, so Ichigo let himself go for tonight. Screw what his friends thought. Screw what anyone thought. The only people that mattered right now, were the two strangers, no lovers, in front of him.

Ichigo pushed a wet finger into Gin, making the man squirm a bit, and in turn causing Toshiro to moan from the movement, like a chain reaction. Interested in these amusing turn of events, Ichigo forced another finger into Gin, watching those hips jerk upwards and sinking himself deeper into Toshiro. It was splendid to see that lanky body writhe, trapped between the bed and Toshiro as Ichigo continued to torture his ass with his fingers, and it was lovely to see Toshiro twist and jerk atop him. He didn't want to keep them waiting and wanting like this, it would be too cruel, even though he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

After thoroughly wetting and stretching Gin with three fingers, and even hitting that sweet spot a few times just to make both bodies squirm, Ichigo again pressed his chest to Toshiro's back, this time keeping a little closer as he guided himself past that tightly ringed entrance. Gin's legs tensed, muscles in his thighs trying to adapt to the sudden intrusion of something much harder and larger than fingers. This was something Toshiro felt every time, though, even now, so he took all of the orange-top in and tried to relax himself, the images of Ichigo banging him, and through him Toshiro, no longer at the forefront of his mind, as this was happening for real.

Taking a moment to let Gin adjust to his thickness, Ichigo wrapped an arm around Toshiro's body and rested a palm on both their stomachs, nosing Toshiro's shoulder as he muttered into his skin. "ready?" Gin's legs were spread wide, Toshiro's feet were trying to steady him at either side of his chest, and Ichigo's legs were under Gins, trying to make enough room for him to perch comfortably and completely dominate everything they did.

Receiving a nod from his two lovers, Ichigo tested the waters, pulling out slightly, and pushing back in with a sharp jab of his hips. The effect was mind-blowing. He seemed to have hit something sensitive inside, as Gin yet again lifted himself into Toshiro. As Ichigo rocked into Gin, he'd rocked Toshiro deeper onto Gin's arousal, and everyone ended up a boneless mess as the friction and pressure and desire clouded their senses, an overload of sensations. Toshiro had to lean his hands on Gin's chest to keep himself from slumping over, and Ichigo thought he heard a crack when Gin threw back his head to let his wordless cry echo around the room. He was feeling double from the others, since he was receiving as well as getting, and he wanted to experience this again and again, now more than ever. This memory was going to forever remain in his head.

His view was gorgeous, Toshiro with his eyes closed, mouth open, and leaning his head back against Ichigo's massive chest, and Ichigo slumping forward and kissing his long-time lover from behind as he started a rhythm for the three of them to follow, his hands traveling all over their pale skin just like theirs were traveling wherever they could reach. There was a lot of noise for such a slow pace, as they took their time to enjoy these new positions, but Ichigo was soon growing unsatisfied with it, and set about giving faster, deeper thrusts into them. Toshiro added to the faster tempo, trying his best to thrust down onto Gin's shaft right as Ichigo shoved himself all the way inside Gin's ass. The bed creaked noisily, the headboard banged against the wall, their bodies slamming into each other with the grace of a hippo on ice. It was messy, noisy, and more frantic than rhythmic, but it worked for them.

It was too much for him to deal with, he couldn't hold back any longer. His head and back hurt from the force of Ichigo's thrusts, which had banged him into the headboard with no mercy. Gripping the sheets with two fists, expression that of pure euphoria and his mind overcome with blissful delirium, Gin released his seed inside Toshiro, like a geyser shooting up jets of hot water. His ass tightened as a rift of pleasure overtook him, nearly painfully cutting off the circulation to Ichigo's cock, who grunted and winced but still caught Toshiro as he followed suit. His orgasm spurting across Gins stomach and chest, the hold Toshiro had on his orange hair painful as every muscle in his body tensed, then crashed boneless to the side on the bed. Gin's dick was freed with a slick pop, covered in lubrication and ejaculation. The appearance of such a delicious sight drove him further into Gin, until he came as well just a few short strokes later, and he continued to pump into him until his balls were milked dry, scooting on his ass to lay at the other end of the bed, his cock in a similar state as Gin's.

The one to recover first from PSB(post sexual bliss) was Toshiro, and seeing the mess they created, he decided to make a trip to the bathroom, regardless of his wobbly legs. He'd made the mistake once of not cleaning up that same night, and the following morning had been disastrous to clean up. To hell if he was going to repeat that when there was a guest in their home. Granted he wasn't a typical house guest, as he'd just screwed their lights out, but he would rather not repeat that incident even without a guest here.

Grabbing a washcloth from the closet and putting it under a warm faucet, he wrung out the extra water and made his way back to the bedroom, where the other two males had somehow managed to cultivate enough energy to crawled and lay properly on the pillows. Snorting at their laziness, he started at Gin's chest and cleaned everything up with little effort, feeling the fatigue start to catch up with him. Half-hazardously throwing the washcloth into the hamper, he then crawled into bed with them. Gin immediately pulled him closer into a hug, grinning from ear to ear, obviously satisfied with the night's activities.

"Shiro-chan... Can we keep him?" Noticing the head of orange tilt their way from where he was laying behind Gin, Toshiro couldn't keep himself from teasing the man. Even if Gin got away with calling him his most hated nickname, he was feeling very satisfied right now.

"Well, it's a huge responsibility, taking care of a strawberry." And he had said this with a straight face, earning a small chuckle from Gin.

"I promise ta feed it and take care of it an' give it lotsa love!" That's when a tanned hand slapped the back of his head.

"Stop speaking about me as if I were a dog!"

Toshiro peeked at Ichigo's annoyed face and smirked. "But answer us seriously. Are you interested in staying around for a while?"

Red eyes also glanced his way from the corner of Gin's face, and Ichigo felt like he was prisoner caught in the pitch black of night with a search light. He got a really good feeling about these two when he first laid eyes on them, and they wanted to keep him in their relationship after just one night? But of course they don't mean it like that, they mean it in only a sexual way, to give them a threesome should the need arise, or for either of them to just fuck someone different. Well, it would fit his new mentality, his new beginning he'd pledged earlier that night; no more love, only lust. Love was something special between two people, there could never be a third, so society says. And considering his recent bad luck with it...

But he had to admit that tonight had been fun, and if given the chance to do it again, he'd agree in a heartbeat.

He nodded, resigning himself to the doghouse. "Sure. Give me a whistle, and I'll make time."

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AN: Ta-da! And that's the end of it! Hmm... I'm not satisfied with the ending scene, but I've made someone wait long enough... Might make this a two-shot... But that comes later. Need to get several one-shots up, not to mention everything else updated... XD Happy birthday, QueenOfCitrus! You have been a stone pillar of confidence and encouragement to me! Sorry this story is late, but I -HAVE- been giving you snippets of it, at least. XD I hope you like it!

-Kuro


	2. Chapter 2

AN: So yeah... I want to turn this into a multiple-chaptered story. Nothing epic, maybe just 5 or 6 at most... I dunno. -shrugs- But here is the next installment. XD Any questions about the Disclaimer and stuff is on the first chapter. -Bows- Please enjoy!

* * *

Morning. The bane of every student and working person's existence. Mondays. Day one, the beginning of the Week of Hell. Coffee. It was salvation, the only thing that would be able to get Ichigo through this torturous time of his life, and he needed a lot of it after what happened last night. When he'd left that morning, the couple had still been asleep, and rather than rudely awaken them from their adorable snoozing and cuddling, he decided to leave a note with his contact information. He would have stayed if he could, but he had to work that morning, and later on that night was a lecture to attend on Music Theory. For the next five days, it would be filled with nothing but work and school, eating and sleeping, studying and taking breaks only to go to the toilet, and possibly a gig on a weekend night. Exams were coming up soon, so he had to dive deep into the recesses of his brain and pull forth all the knowledge he learned this semester for quizzing.

Just a slight problem... He had a hard time focusing, and he very well knew the reason why.

When his turn in line came up, he set about giving the nice young lady his order. House blend Iced Coffee, with a shot of Irish Cream and a slice of orange. He didn't have to say a single word, the staff knew him well enough here to immediately get him his usual, but old habits die hard. Megumi, the girl behind the register, gave him a pleasant smile and went about making his order. Other workers were okay at it, but she made his drink the best. Actually, it was because of her that he was so fond of the drink. First time here, he wasn't quite sure what to order, because when you are a caffeine addict, everything looks good, so she offered to stir something up for him. It had been his staple from then on.

After receiving his drink and making sure Megumi would be here tomorrow to take his order again, she seemed to work most mornings, he gave her a little wave and walked a steady beat he brought up on his iPod, a good song by Awolnation called "Sail." His next destination was a local music store that was half an hour's walk from the coffee place, and he was in no particular rush to get there seeing as his shift didn't start until forty-five minutes from now. None of the employees were really supposed to have anything behind the counter, the only exception being a bottle of water, so he had time to savor every drop on the way there.

Swaying to the beat as he walked, Ichigo expertly dived in and out of the human traffic that clogged the sidewalks of downtown Karakura, rarely did he ever accidently bump into anyone. He'd been working at Shinigami Records ever since he first came to this city, so he had quite a bit of practice. He was still in high school when his entire family moved here just so his father could have his own clinic, and it wasn't fun moving so abruptly like that, leaving all his friends behind. He still kept in touch, but over a distance, the feeling just wasn't the same. And then pile a whole shitload of other things onto his back, and that was the past he didn't really want to remember. Things were different. He was on his own, now, and his family was happy, and he was happy, so there was nothing left for him to look back on. He was out here, in the wild of the city, surviving on his own, and that felt fantastic!

Sure, he's met a few people he wished he would have remained ignorant to, but on a larger scale, there was nothing serious to complain about his current situation. He had a job, he was going to school, his band kick-started it's debut performance just last month, and he'd gotten laid last night. Add this morning's expertly crafted brew from Megumi as the cherry on top. He wasn't sure he'd be able to say the same when he walked over the threshold of the store's entrance, so he savored the tiny bit of sanity he had to himself before he lost it for the rest of the day.

Ichigo had gone through a few more songs from that same band before he finally arrived at his destination. Swallowing the last few drops of liquid euphoria and dropping the empty cup in the trash can nearby, he braved himself to gather his wits so he wouldn't be thrown off-guard at what might be happening inside those doors. Nope, he was still thrown for a loop. He almost wanted to back outside and have a double-take at the door sign. But there were his coworkers, acting as weird as ever... maybe a little weirder than what was considered normal...

There was Madarame Ikkaku, a young man that had shaved his head and was the drummer in Ichigo's band. He had a slight attitude problem, but on the whole, he wasn't a half-bad person to get to know. Today, he had what looked like a bokken attached to his belt, gripping the end with a strained hand as he glared menacingly towards a busty blonde girl who just shrugged him off in favor of doing something else. Matsumoto Rangiku was the store's main source of gossip and flirtation. Gossip for the girls, and every guy's wet dream. Except for Ichigo. She treated him like one of the girls. It was a sweet thought, but also a little insulting, though he knew she didn't mean any harm by it. Those who weren't used to her blunt personality and outlandish ideas could find themselves a little overwhelmed. The perfect example would be the newest addition to their staff, who was sitting in a chair and letting Rangiku put make-up on his face. Hanatarō Yamada was currently sitting on a stool, smiling happily as Rangiku applied eye make-up in expert strokes to his lids and lashes. He was dressed... as a girl? He had a sundress on, yellow with little daisies around the hem and bustier, the spaghetti straps disappearing into a pink shrug, the dress ending at his knees and Ichigo could see pink, heeled shoes.

It must have been a dead day for business. That's what usually lead his ragtag bunch of coworkers to the brink of insanity. Ichigo entertained the thought of slipping out, going home and playing hooky for the rest of the day so he wouldn't have to deal with them, but that plan scratched itself out when Rangiku turned to him with a huge smile. Crap, he was in for it, now. There was no stopping her when she got that look in her eye.

"Ichigo!" She threw herself at him, mindful of the beauty products in her hands, and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Isn't this an awesome idea? Yamada volunteered to be a subject for my beauty school practice! He's such a good kid. Unlike some other, more stubborn and baldy men that would easily rip a girl's heart out-"

"Woman, what the hell are you on?! I never said anything like that!" Ikkaku turned to me then jammed a finger at her. "All I said was no! That's it!"

She slapped the back of his shiny head. "You're such a brute! You are supposed to be nice to women! How do you ever expect to get a girlfriend with that attitude?" He turned to her, screaming.

"Well it sure isn't going to be you!"

Rangiku's eyes flared as she whirled on him. "Like I would ever suggest such a disgusting thing!" She then proceeded to grab his bokken and chased him around the store, coming very close on several occasions to whacking him on the head, disregarding any pleas for her to stop her relentless assault. Ichigo steered clear of the fight, edging his way over to Yamada who also sported a wide-eyed look at the crazy scene in front of them.

"Um... Why are you in a dress? I'm not judging or anything, just curious."

He sweat-dropped at him. "Rangiku-sempai believes that it will get me in touch with my inner femininity and I'll be able to wear the make-up better." Ichigo raised an eyebrow as he put his bag down behind the counter.

"That doesn't make any sense."

"I know. But it's better to let Rangiku believe that rather than end up like Ikkaku-san."

Looking over to the soundtracks where the duo had stopped fighting, or where Ikkaku admitted defeat, Ichigo tried not to let out any laughter. Ikkaku was squatting, nearly sitting, on the ground, his head in his hands as a bump visibly formed where his bokken had made contact with his skull. This was his day job, his mornings and afternoons wasted away with these misfits. Granted, by a technicality he was one of them, on occasion he had a tendency to act like an idiot, but out of the four of them he was considered the most sane, followed really closely by Yamada.

Lunch came around eleven-thirty, for both him and Rangiku, the other two would take theirs after they got back at twelve-fifteen. The pair chose a place tucked away in the corner of a plaza, and it wasn't long before their table was littered with subs, fries, chips, cookies and soda. Ichigo was a bit of a light eater, though, so only the sandwich and soda were his. He had a sneaky suspicion, though, that whatever Rangiku ate went straight to her boobs instead of her waist. However, the conversation that took place was more interesting than that bit of old news. She didn't play coy, either, she attacked the point of the matter, and she did it with a sweet smile on her face.

"Ichi-kun... You seem different this morning. Did you get laid last night?" Ichigo sputtered and coughed as he'd chosen to take a swig of his soda in that moment, trying to force the burning liquid out of the wrong tube it had accidentally escaped to. Rangiku waved her hands in worry, before awkwardly going over to pat a hand on his back. "Sorry, was that too forward for you?" Clearly.

Once he was able to breathe properly again, he dropped his head in his hands. He did not want to talk to her about his sex life. Really, it was something he wanted to keep all to himself. But he also knew that Rangiku would eventually get it out of him, whether it was by stalking him for the next few weeks, or beating it out of him, she'd get her way. Better to tell her some of it just to get her off his back than to get beaten into an unrecognizable blob... Or worse. Seriously, with those boobs, he didn't even want to thing about what "or worse" could mean. Fine, he'll give her a vague story, but the details were his to keep a hold of.

He sighed. "Yes, Ran... I did get laid. Or rather I laid them..."

She cheered and nudged him in the shoulder. "You sly bastard! Who's the lucky bitch with the sore ass?" she asked conversationally, popping chips into her mouth as if it were popcorn, her eyes bright and very interested. She was giddy as a school girl, and so unbelievably happy, he didn't question how she knew he was bi, or even the fact that he'd bang a dude instead of a girl. She was a woman. They were sensitive to these things. Better not to questions it, as he would most likely get nothing but a headache in return.

Ichigo picked up the first half of his Philly cheese steak sub, looking off to the side. "I prefer not to disclose either of their names." Then he took a big bite and let that information sink into her strawberry-blond head. Her eyes only got wider, if that were at all possible.

"You banged two people? Were they already a couple?" He nodded, and he swore she was going to squeal at any moment. "Was it only a one-time thing, or were you invited back to their bed any time?" He nodded again, but he didn't have to tell her which one he was nodding to, she understood completely, that or she assumed correctly. "That's so kinky! Are you going to be a part of their relationship, then? That would be so idyllic! The perfect romance! It makes me swoon with absolute jealousy!"

Him? Part of a relationship? He didn't even know anything about them, except for their names and where they lived. It was for the best that he remained a fuck buddy, because relationships were complicated, screwing someone into the next Tuesday was not. Simple logistics, really. His last two relationships didn't end so well, so taking a break from that was probably a good idea. He was in a "don't take things too seriously" state of mind, regardless of what anybody else might think would be good for him. Whatever, he shrugged to himself, focusing on trying to eat at least half his sandwich before getting back to work.

"Ichigo..." He raised an eyebrow at her. "It's unhealthy to stay this way. It's been a year since you were in a relationship... Don't you think it's time you jump back into the sea? Screwing people must be great and all, but don't you want to find someone to love? To love you in return before the last petal falls? Don't you want a beauty to love your beast?"

The carrot-top rolled his eyes as he took a drink to clear his throat so he could speak without a full mouth. "Eventually, I might find somebody worthy to fill that spot. Right now, I'm just fine right where I am. At least I didn't wait two or three years before even having sex. I couldn't survive keeping my legs closed for that long, but let me cope how I want to cope for now, and if another year passes with me still single and having one-night stands, then feel free to bitch at me, okay? I promise you'll get first dibs. I know you're worried about me, and that sweet, but I'm a big boy, I can handle myself."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "Sometimes I just wonder about that head of yours, that's all." He would have asked what she meant by that, but she put up a hand in protest. "That's between me and a friend of mine. Ignore it. Anyway, We're due back at the store, soon."

He got up and stretched. "Damn... Back to those two?"

She poked him in the stomach. "Are you going to finish it, or can I pretty please have it?" She was referring to the other half of his foot-long sandwich. The table was clear of everything else aside from it, and Ichigo had to wonder how she manage to clean everything off as still have room for more. He had plans on saving that little morsel, but he had a weak spot for those begging blue eyes, and he pushed it over to her. He waved her off even as she tried to eat it and thank him at the same time as they headed back to the store.

The entire day was dull, but there was always something needed to be done, whether it was reorganization in each section, or lecturing his coworkers for horsing around and ruining the displays, to doing the most hated job ever of taking inventory. Yamada was still in the dress by the time he had to leave, and somehow, some way, Rangiku managed to get Ikkaku down and now he had blocks of red liner and shadow coming up from his eyes. Even more surprising, he actually looked pretty good with it, and Ikkaku liked it enough to want to keep them from now on. It would certainly make a striking statement in the band, perhaps Rangiku should do a bit of make-up on all their faces when Halloween rolled around. Ichigo was able to dodge her for most of the day, he wasn't into make-up, but for something special like the holidays, he wouldn't mind that. Halloween was still mostly a month away, so they could still make plans and apply for various gigs.

After his shift ended, he bid them farewell and briskly walked to his apartment, just enough time for him to grab his textbook and notebook, leaving right on time for his only class of the night. It wasn't much to look at, a three bedroom with a joint kitchen and living room, and a bathroom off the the side, but he and his roommates were able to make it work most of the time. Ichigo didn't have much in the way of personal affects. A laptop, a few photos and a cup of pens and pencils sat atop a small desk, while his guitar and backpack leaned against it on either side. He had a small dresser to put his clothes in, and the size of his bed was no larger than a twin. The walls had a few band and movie posters, but that was it.

One of his roommates was quiet, hardly said anything, and was the second guitarist in his band. He was a tall monstrosity, with a dark skin tone worthy of his Hispanic background, but Sado was like a lamb on the inside, a gentle giant. Not many people knew he had a pet cockatiel he'd named after a kid that had been violently murdered along with his mother. The other one living there was a controlling neat freak and very boisterous about it. If he or Sado forgot to pick up a sock in the living room, Ishida would get into a blown out rampage about "crowding up the place with their junk." Granted, one of the reasons why three boys could live in a small space equivalent to three closets and a bedroom was because they kept it tidy, but this guy was obsessive-compulsive bordering on anal, and he never let them forget it.

They all had set chores, as well, something they were responsible for. Ishida had a thing about taking proper care of his clothes, and he refused to let anyone else do them, so he was responsible for most of everyone's laundry. Also, he had a system going on in the bathroom, and he refused to let anyone change his habits, so he would clean the bathroom according to his own personal schedule. Sado was pretty decent at making food, so most nights had him preparing meals and keeping the kitchen tidy. As for Ichigo, he had very good organization skills, and thus the living room was given to him. All their DVDs, CDs, video games and books were neatly stuffed into various bookshelves, divided by personal possession, and kept in smart places around the room to optimize space, because there was barely any room for the furniture and TV, let alone the extra bookcases. Speaking of which, Ichigo's trained eye could see they were starting to run out of room, again...

But he didn't have time to think about that right now. Glancing at the wall clock, there was fifteen minutes until his class started, so Ichigo got hasty and went to his room to grab his things and then grabbed an apple from the large bowl on the counter before he made his way out. It was a two-hour class, but they were allowed a fifteen-minute break to eat, go to the bathroom and try to wrap their heads around the lesson with the teacher or their friends. He needed something more than just coffee and a half-eaten sandwich in his system. He'd made a grave mistake by letting Rangiku have the other half, but couldn't bring himself to care enough to throw a fit.

The campus wasn't too far away, and the building he needed to be in was just at the edge, known as Wolfgang Hall, and his classroom was on the second level, with one of the better teachers the college had to offer. Professor Rōjūrō Otoribashi was a great guy, and although his blonde hair, girly persona and love of music made him seem a bit weird, all of his students adored him. He even had a nickname, Professor Rose, because he always had roses on his desk, no matter the color or season. Even though Ichigo already knew most of the material taught for this class, he still attended for the amusement the teacher always provided. It was a class he loved going to, and he wouldn't dream of missing a single day.

After taking a seat in the half-filled lecture hall, he took a moment to see the lessons on the dry-erase board. Consonance and dissonance. Chord extensions. Chord Progression. Diatonic Functions. And Diminished Chords. Stuff he already knew. Go figure. Another night where he could sit back and relax. Slumping back in his chair, he crossed a foot over to rest on his knee. There were a few more people starting to trickle in, including another member of the band and his best friend since childhood. Tatsuki was short, but she could kick any person's butt into unconsciousness, just give her about ten seconds to do it. Rukia was the bassist, and one hell of a good one. She was the only other member of the band that bothered to go to college with him. Both Sado and Ikkaku worked full time.

They came over to him, greeted him with a wave and sat down on either side of him, settling their books and bags into place, and then leered at him, leaning in close to grin at him. Shit, he knew this maneuver very well, and when Rukia opened her big fat mouth, he knew he was right in assuming they'd already heard the news from Rangiku. That bitch. He loved her immensely, but sometimes she just didn't know when to keep her mouth shut. That was another reason why he didn't tell her everything, she always told it to her friends.

"So, Ichigo." Rukia tried to keep her tone nonchalant and conversational, but he wasn't fooled. "I hear you snagged a couple of hot men last night..." It wasn't a question, more like a statement, and Ichigo couldn't deny the truth behind it.

"I see Rangiku didn't waste any time in babbling our conversation to the both of you..." His face was deadpanned and unfazed as Tatsuki gave a small chuckle.

"Actually, she told Rukia, and Rukia just informed me as we were walking up the classroom door."

"Of course, it seems every girl I run into is a kinky yaoi fan..."

"Give us something, though!" Rukia started poking his arm. "Come on, please?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes at her begging, wondering just how the hell he was going to weasel his way out from between these two. While it was great to have friends who care, did they really have to crowd around him and demand answers to very decision he made for himself? So he screwed a couple of people... He didn't pry into their love lives. He was there for his friends when they had a bad relationship, but he didn't start babying them and start telling them what to do, and he wished for all the world they would just buzz off. The worried looks, the pep talks, the offers for blind dates, the "I care" speeches, he was done with all of them.

Right now, he only wanted one thing, and that was sex with no connections. Toshiro and Gin provided for that last night, so no one had the right to complain about him being "unhappy."

Ichigo was granted relief from further persecution when Professor Rose walked in. Putting his books down on his desk next to a fresh dozen pink roses that stood in a vase off to the side, he greeted his students with a warm smile. It didn't take long for everyone to settle down enough for him to speak. "Good evening, kids." Everyone returned it with concise unity and genuine pleasantry. "Before we begin, I'd like for you to take out your essays." They did so, the people at the end of the rows holding them out for collection as he walked up and down each aisle. Once he'd managed to grab all the papers and stack them at the edge of his desk for future grading, he went to the whiteboard, beginning the day's lesson with a red marker.

The three of them settled into their routines, Rukia and Tatsuki actually taking notes, while Ichigo relaxed with one foot resting on his other knee. He still paid attention, though, just to confirm what he already knew and to be ready if the teacher called on him, which in most cases, he does. But that doesn't usually happen unless someone doesn't understand something, and that's rare in this class. Rukia was quick to pick up on what he was saying right away, and Tatsuki was just smart in general, she usually figured it out before the time class ended. But there was this one girl who almost always didn't understand, he wondered why she hadn't dropped out yet. Music is obviously not her thing. He suspected she had a crush on the teacher or on someone in this class, it must be the only thing keeping her in here.

Someone in the front row and off to his right suddenly stood up, raising their hand. Speak of the devil. Think of her for one millisecond, and she appears. "But you only have seven intervals in a scale, so how do you find the larger intervals?"

"Great question! Those ninth, eleventh & thirteenth notes are extensions of the compound scale..."

He lied. It was a terrible question, anyone in this class should know that by now. As the teacher went on a rant about crap he already knew(the privileges of growing up in a music-oriented family gave him private insight on the subject at a young age), he gave the girl a slight glare and slumped in his seat. The girl was an idiot, who only looked more confused the further Prof. Rose went, and he could see it in Rukia's and Tatsuki's faces, the later leaning in to whisper.

"Even Orihime wasn't this stupid." He had to agree with that, despite not wanting to think about his first girlfriend. Orihime was in the top three of their high school class the last two years they were there, but the first two years, she was in the upper-middle of the pack. However, she was unable to be here annoyed with them because she'd gone to a different school, and with it went their relationship. He'd moped over her for a few months, but they remained friends through e-mail and phone calls. And even though she'd been able to get on with her life and was now in a relationship of three years, he had to wait a while for that luxury. After Orihime, he'd never really found anyone special, until about one and a half years ago. He and Kaien had been pretty happy with their lives, until his boyfriend was murdered just a year ago.

It had been all over the news, Kaien and his family, the Shibas, had been murdered bye an escaped convict raiding their house. The three siblings shared a flat in the city to save them all a huge expense, their parents living out in the country. Ganju and Kukaku were already home, and when Kaien got there, they were long dead. Police confirmed that there was a struggle, and Kaien took the enemy with him, but Ichigo could force himself to be proud of his heroics, because he knew that there was no one on earth able to take his place. Public attention and crowds helped, and maybe someone could temporarily fill the sexual hunger and keep him distracted, but as soon as he's alone, those memories start up again. Every day was an effort for him to stay sane. It's been a year since Kaien's death, and he should be over it now, or so people say, but who were they to judge? Kaien was unlike any other, and Ichigo had truly thought he'd found his soul mate, the other half of his soul, the one he was going to grow old with and adopt children from around the world. Ichigo thought he'd meant three or four... Kaien had actually meant about six or seven. The memory made him grin a little.

With Rukia and Tatsuki scribbling at their notes, Professor Rose moving on to the next topic, and with nothing else better to do, he decided to start doodling in his notebook. Nothing serious, just random squiggles and shapes, something that would keep him lighthearted in front of everyone and wouldn't allow him to sink rock-bottom like he did in private when he usually thought about his deceased lover. The emotion for today is happy, which entailed bright smiley faces, shining stars and arching rainbows for his lined stationery. He thought Rukia might've raised an eyebrow when she glanced over at his paper, but she otherwise didn't say anything, so he ignored her.

During the break, the girls backed off and only talked to him about the mundane things like the lessons in the class, the band's gig this coming weekend, and Rangiku's newest main squeeze. Ichigo thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and munched on his apple when the girls turned to talking about clothes. Not really his thing. Sure, he knew enough to not look like a slob, but he wasn't interested enough to go girl-deep into fashion. After the second half of class ended, he was once again saved from further inquiry about the other night when the teacher called him down to his desk. The girls gave him suspicious looks but he waved them off as they exited the lecture hall. Once he was standing in front of his professor's desk, he waited for the inevitable questions that was sure to come.

"Ichigo, why are you in my class." No beating around the bush, then.

He shrugged. "Because it'll look good on my Wikipedia page when I'm famous."

"I'm being serious."

"So am I. I intend to look like a smart musician, not just another metal-head junkie."

His eyes squinted in curiosity. "How much of the material did you know from today's lesson?"

Ichigo folded his arms behind his head in a lazy sort of manner. "Pretty much all of it." It was basic stuff to him, droned into him as a kid.

Professor Rose raised an eyebrow. "And you took this class just to make your career look good?"

He managed a small shrug. "Well, why else does anyone take college?" For that exact same reason.

The man let out a defeated sigh, and Ichigo knew he could see the logic behind his side of their conversation. He was itching to get out of here and go somewhere, anywhere, public or private, it didn't matter. Even if it was to his lonely apartment with no one else waiting there for him, he just wanted to be out from being under everyone's microscope today. It was starting to irritate the piss out of him, and if one more person tried to give him advice or spill his dirty little secrets in the bedroom, he was going to pummel them into a bloody, gooey puddle of pulp on the ground.

"Well, as long as you're passing my tests, and turning in the work, I can't get mad at you. Still..." He straightened his papers into a neater stack and stood up, Ichigo following suit and bringing his arms down to grasp at his book bag resting against his feet. He had a feeling he was about to get some advice right now, but he'll forgo punching his teacher. Expulsion and all... "Be careful with how your life is going. You look... not very well. Take a day off, be lazy and not do anything for a day. Just to relax. It's just a suggestion." And with that, he left the room.

Hefting his bag over his shoulder, the orange-top followed him out. Going home and doing nothing was just the opposite of what he really should do, it certainly wasn't going to help any, he knew that from experience. He wouldn't mind tossing himself in between the sheets with Toshiro and Gin again, but it would probably appear rude to interrupt their personal lives just because he didn't want to deal with his own. Besides, he didn't have their contact information. He glanced at his phone just in case, just on the off-change he might've been wrong and that they were free tonight, regardless if their first meeting was barely twenty-four hours ago.

No.

His phoned indicated no new calls, texts. voicemails, or emails while he'd been in the classroom. He was doomed to spend this night like many other nights, alone in his apartment, in the silence, to contemplate the little things such as dusty bunnies running amok under his bed, to important ones like the infinite diversities of alternate realities stacked together like a pressed deck of thousands of cards, to his lack of having a boyfriend.

Groaning, he texted his doctor, mindful of the time. He wanted to make sure it wasn't too late and that he wouldn't be waking her up if she was already home. He did that before and received a long tongue-lashing for it the next time he saw her. His mind was racing again, and those breathing exercises his useless therapist was telling him to do weren't working. They never worked in the first place, and he always thought the idiot would be better off rationalizing family drama and possibly be a guidance counselor, but not his therapist. And he was going to need a refill on his prescription again, lest she wanted his rage issues to come back in full force, and he knew neither of them wanted that.

He only had to wait a couple minutes before she texted him back. "I have an open schedule tomorrow morning. If you don't work, I can get you in my office at eight."

No, he didn't have tomorrow off, but if he called in sick, he could get a doctor's note easily. She wouldn't mind. She was kind of like him in his younger years, and a little worse, a troublemaker. And even though she knocked him on the head every time for stupid behavior, she understood. He responded, saying he'll come tomorrow, that he did have work, but he would skip out. The owner didn't really care much if people call in, as along as it was two hours before their shift.

Wit tomorrow morning's plans set in stone, he tucked his phone back into his pocket as he headed to a part of town he really shouldn't be heading in. Sure, the neighborhood wasn't the best, but it wasn't exactly the worst, either, as cop car routinely ran through the area at night alone. The sun was setting in the sky, just barely peeking over the horizon as the rest of the night darkened. It would be about this time that they would start circling. He knew this, because he used to live in this neighborhood, that's why he shouldn't really come here. He used to live just down the street from Kaien, and his apartment was probably still wrapped up in crime scene tape...

When he arrived at the large building, he frowned at the dilapidated and abandoned state it was in. No one was here, or at least, there were no lights on to indicate there were people still living here. Looking up to the top floor balconies, he could see a strip of yellow tape billowing in the wind from where Kaien's living room should have been. Unsure of what to do with himself, he stood rooted to the spot, rubbing an arm to try and shake off the "willies" he was getting from this close proximity to the building. He was already here, he should go inside. No, he shouldn't go inside, but he wanted to, and that is exactly what he did. Straightening his posture and mentally smacking himself to pull it together, he stepped purposefully down the sidewalk to the entrance of the build. How many times had he greeted to doorman on his way in? He couldn't even remember that much. He tried the handle and it gave way, allowing him to walk over the threshold.

Entering the small lobby, he remembered the girl in the desk chair always trying to flirt with him, to get him to leave his boyfriend and hook up with her, but she always said it with a smile and a wink, obviously joking around with him. She would always take pictures of them when they go out and make copies for them. How many did she take over the course of their relationship? He had lost count. Not trusting the elevators, he took the stairwell up to the top floor, his feet echoing every stair he took. A dreadful feeling was creeping up his spine, increasing as the floor numbers got higher, until he reached the tenth level. When he was at the door that led to the top floor's hallway, he was finding himself again standing stiff-still, but not because of the "heebie-jeebies." His entire body was rigid with rampaging emotions, from sadness, to love, to pain, to happiness. All of his memories were flooding back to him, and they made him want to smile. But now, this place wanted to make him cry, because those happy memories will no longer be here for him, and he'll be unable to make new ones. Now, this place will be nothing but a death trap, a place of murder, forever remembered because of that fateful day.

Swallowing to try and ease the tension in his closing throat, he reached out and pulled open the door in one big swing, kind of like ripping a bandage off in one big jolt, but this was only the scrape. The bloody gauze and medical tape would come later, when he was at the apartment door. He looked around the hall. It was just as he remembered, if not dusty and dirty from being abandoned for so long. A year is hardly a long time for something to be abandoned, but the place looked like had been abandoned for ten years. His hand touched a painting on the wall, an abstract of black, aqua and purple primarily, and speckled in certain places with orange, brown and yellow. He'd always liked this painting. His fingers came away dusty, a thick streak now running vertically to the bottom. He should steal this at some point, since no one else cared about it.

Stealing himself, he turned to where he knew the apartment was, he could walk there blindfolded if he wanted, but then he would miss all the memories that came with seeing this old place again. An example would be one night, when his siblings were away, he and Kaien were making out and trying to go down the hall at the same time, both of them rolling around on the walls, trapping the other in an embrace, and a knee massaging a groin, hands were touchy-feely, and moans echoed throughout the narrow space. There was a dent in the wall further down from when Ichigo had accidentally banged his guitar case against it, and little crayon drawings when a couple of Kaien's nieces had come over and gotten away from them for a while because they'd been... distracted. Ichigo allowed himself a small chuckle when he saw the door handle. There were scrapes from when Kaien was too heady with lust to actually insert the key properly, and he'd made some sort of cheeky comment about having trouble inserting other things, as well, and that had led to a really hot make-out session right there on the floor, serious fondling and grinding hips, nipple tweaking and an almost-blowjob.

But all laughing matters grew solemn when he opened the door, and the first sight to greet him was a bloodstained carpet. He ignored the trashed apartment inside. He didn't venture further in to find the other bloodstains that littered the hallway and bedrooms. He was fixated on this one. This is where they'd found him. This was all that remained of Kaien in this world. Of course, his body was buried, but that was in the family plot in another part of the country, one that he was banned from visiting. Kukaku and Ganju were fine with the firm relationship Ichigo and Kaien were in, but their parents did not share their sentiment, not even at Ganju's birthday, when he and his girlfriend announced they were getting married. It was kind of surprising their parents even came down that day, they hated the city. But when the murder happened, they found someone to take the brunt of their anger: Ichigo.

He released his bag, letting it land still halfway in the hall, and moved almost mechanically toward the dark stain, unable to stay away from it, drawn to it like a frantic moth fluttering to a single, candle-lit flame trapped in the darkest oubliette. Next thing he knew, he was falling. First to his knees, then to his hands, all in the span of just a few seconds until his entire body was flush against the floor. It was old, growing dusty and moldy over course of the owner's neglect until it was in its current unkempt state, and smelled painfully of sorrow, sacrifice and murder.

He couldn't bring himself to care. If anything, he buried his nose further into the rough carpet. This was his only emotional connection left, until new owners demolish it, he was going to keep coming here, to this very spot. And he was going to cry as much as he wanted, scream until his throat was raw, and kiss that bloody residue until his lips became chapped. He could already feel the tears coming as he slid his hand across the patchy fibers to lay lovingly in the center spot, the last place Kaien had drawn breath. Sometimes he wondered if he even had anymore tears to shed, but his body never failed to answer that as soon as he came here, to reconfirm that yes, he was human, he was still in love, and he was not alright. Out there, everyone saw him. Popular, smart, talented, arousing. Here, none of that mattered.

Here, he would sleep. His form would curve to frame that spot of death, and he would have no nightmares. Here he would sleep, and dream about happier days.

* * *

End Chapter two. -Bows-


	3. Chapter 3

That very evening, Gin walked into his lavish office, furnished with a leather seating area, medium brown wooden tables with his desk in the far back a slightly darker shade, and a red accent wall showcasing a large, floor to ceiling section reserved for his pet snake. Drifting over to the glassed-off wall, he gave it a couple of soft taps, gazing lovingly at his pet, who was coiled around and slightly hanging off one of the branches in the network of many that stretched around the spacious cage. The boa constrictor lifted its head lazily, flicked out its tongue and went back to sleep. He chuckled slightly at the lethargic response, and made his way over to his desk, letting the sleepy snake get back to snoozing.

He wished he could've been able to go back to sleep whenever he wanted, but unlike him, Toshiro had to work daylight hours. After having a small conversation about the fun they had experienced with Ichigo the previous night and another round of relaxed morning sex, they eventually gathered enough energy between the two of them to rise from the comforts of their bed to start their day. Gin wasn't completely off the hook, either. He had to go over the arrangements with the manager about the entertainment schedule for that evening. Then it was on to drink specials, the menu choices, and the status of the plumbing in the bathrooms. The weekend had left them in an atrocious state. Toshiro had it worse, dealing with claustrophobic rooms, the flirtatious girls who worked the front desk, nit-picky snobs who'd cry the moment he even so much as poked a knot on their backs, and the skeptics that questioned the legitimacy of his practice no matter how well they felt afterward. And although Toshiro was mostly very well-liked for his massaging abilities, and was fast becoming in demand for his talents, he didn't particularly enjoy most of the people he had to deal with on a constant basis. Gin understood. There were a few people he personally wanted to throw off a bridge after meeting or speaking to them for the first time.

After making himself comfortable in his plushy, spinney, office chair, he readied himself for business and pushed the blinking button on his phone that activated the messages on his voice-mail. He already had a feeling what type of people would have bothered to leave mail for him, let alone having the number to call him in the first place, but he let them play through to clear out his answering machine. Reporters. They were always looking to get the inside scoop on his private life and to dig deeper into his life than the club he owned, but there would be none of that. Gin had told them when his club first opened that his private life was not allowed to be disrupted. They didn't take the hint, and so every night was a new message from some company or other to try to coax him into an interview. It wasn't going to happen anytime soon, so he mocked them, rolled his eyes at them, and then promptly deleted them.

Celebrities and those without talent. Gin didn't mind going into the club to meet the talents that perform on his stage, they had proven themselves good enough or popular enough to be there to gain the attention of his patrons. But then people he didn't even know started to call him up and bribe him with money or favors to let them get their fifteen minutes of fame. This club was not a variety show, nor was it a comedy club. He was not going to tolerate anyone's begging, either. Instead, Gin had a hired talent seeker that found his entertainment, and he trusted his judgment in that considering how popular his club had grown over the last few years. And as far as people who are already famous, this wasn't Hollywood, this was Karakura, where talent started, where bands and people performed for exposure. Still, that didn't stop them from trying, and had no remorse getting rid of their calls.

The last call had been from whom he considered as the worst person in the world to deal with, more so than any hate group, politician, or corporate company combined: his mother. Groaning, he listened to the voice-mail, dreading the callback. He couldn't not call her back. Good gravy, it was the worst when he talked to that woman, but it was better to get it out of the way now rather than try and put it off. That woman could get even scarier when she was being ignored, it was best to save his sanity from further torment and deal with her head-on when it came to the family's stubborn gene. He picked up the phone, dialed the number, and waited in uneasy apprehension for her to pick it up. He didn't have to wait long, and sure enough, he'd been right. She'd left that message early in the morning and he was just now getting back to her, that did not sit well with her, and she exploded.

"Finally! What took ya so long?!"

Gin remained stone-faced as his mother continued to lecture him about family priorities, which then took a turn toward his indecent business, and then switched over to how he's dishonoring the entire family with his choice in partners, but he was glad she didn't know about the berry... yet. When her volume got louder and bolder at his lack of response, he sharply moved the phone away, his eyebrows screwing together in a grimace as her chastising tone painfully pierced his eardrum.

Every person in his family was just like this, brought up with strict religious views, vipers ready to strike at any little mistake one of their own made, and determined to keep the honor and purity of their household name. Gin was like that once, a cold-heart-ed prick that beat up on the gays, used every woman to his advantage, and was set in his family ways to follow them in becoming a politician. He had thought that everything was set in stone, his life was perfect, and right and wrong were as obvious as white and black, respectively, until the day he'd met a white-haired, biology student from Hokkaido. At first, he'd thought nothing of him, just another strange-looking newcomer. But after bad first impressions, a lot of fighting, and a truce that led to a shaky friendship, Gin only realized too late that he was falling for the guy, and that was something he was not supposed to do. Which had found him atop a building's roof, looking at the street below. He didn't know how far it was to the bottom, he didn't pay attention to the floors as he went up, but it was high enough to end his life and make sure of it.

His friend turned crush was the one that had saved him. Needless to say, they had a long talk afterwards, and little by little, Toshiro was able to open his eyes throughout their stay in college. One by one, those useless things his family was so worried about didn't matter, not for his friends, his classmates, or himself. And he was glad to let them go. If he hadn't, then he would have never been ready for the real world and the many experiences he would go through. Halfway into college, he changed his degree to that of economics and business. Out of everything, he loved clubbing the most, and he wanted to set one up of his own. Sure there were posh gay and straight places to hang out, but he wanted to focus on integrating them, a place where people were as open-minded as him, and wouldn't mind either gender. Hence this place, Seireitei, known throughout the city as the Court of Pure Souls.

"Gin are ya even listening ta me!? I outta box yer ears!" She certainly didn't think that, more likely she thought it the court of devil spawn.

At this point in their one-sided conversation, he was contemplating hanging up and looking for Toshiro. For some reason, whenever Gin's relatives would call or visit and upset him, those teal irides had the soothing power to calm him, even when he'd broken the news to his folks that he had disowned them. He had spent an entire night locked inside a bathroom, wondering what he'd done, if it was the right thing to do, and if he was going to go to the underworld and be tortured for eons, but when his lover had come to the rescue, he no longer worried about that. Ever since his business had opened up and become so popular, his family had been urging him to take them back and to seek out professional help to try and cure his homosexuality, but he knew what they really wanted in on was his profits and benefits, to mooch off his popularity and possibly his will. There was no one on this Earth that was going to take his precious club away, except maybe Ukitake, but that depended on who was going to die first, considering Toshiro's uncle was always sick.

Fortunately, the skills and energy needed to find his boyfriend weren't necessary, as the Ice Titan himself just entered his office. Gin grinned. Perfect timing, if all it took to summon him was just a mental plea for him to be near, he should do so frequently. Taking an amused note at how Toshiro warily eyed the snake as he passed it, he raised a hand and waved at him, still mindful of the phone that transmitted his mother's screaming as clear as day through the connection for anyone in that large room to hear, and caused his lover's right eyebrow to rise. Gin shrugged, placing a hand over the receiver so the woman wouldn't hear them.

"She dunno when ta stop. Deal with her, pretty please?" He then held it out to him.

Toshiro rolled his eyes at Gin's annoyingly pathetic display and grabbed the phone. "Sazuka-chan." The voice on the other side went dead silent at Toshiro's deep, polite voice. The fox was silently cheering for his seemingly effortless way of handling his mother. If he called her by name, all she would do is give him another tongue-lashing. "How lovely of you to call." Still no response, but that didn't matter, he had more to say. "Kindly call another time. Gin is rather busy and can't be bothered with such superfluous social chitchat." Not waiting to hear what sort of protest might have been on the edge of her lips, he ended the call, promptly throwing the phone back into its cradle. Gin clapped louder this time.

"Yea! You chased her away!" He hugged him. "I might hafta hire ya as my bodyguard to keep all the baddies away!"

He shoved him off. "Stop."

Gin tilted his head. "Eh?"

"One thing you aren't is busy. You make Kira-kun do all your work."

He shrugged. "Gotta use yer resources to their best, ne?"

Toshiro gave not answer and remained staring at him, causing him to scratch the back of his head, but there was no time for other questions or gestures. Instead, his lover pushed him back into his chair, and he did it with little effort. In truth, Gin may had been taller than him, but he was lanky, and Toshiro had a bit more muscle on him, so with a flick of his wrist and a flex of his arm, his boyfriend was now slumped against the curved back of his chair, his butt on the edge of the seat. The white haired man crawled on top of him, until he was sitting on the bulge that was now starting to tent his boyfriend's pants at this bossy, yet sexy, display of no-giving-a-crap attitude.

"But, you are busy right now," he stated, bracing his hands on his shoulders as he ground their hips together, getting Jr. to stand a little more at attention.

Gin moaned at the sensation, his hands gripping the armrests tightly, his feet lifting his butt an inch or so off the seat. "Yer such a kinky bitch, Shiro-chan. I love it when yer in the mood ta do it here..."

"It's a nice office... It should be thoroughly purified at least once a week."

"Mmm..." Long fingers wrapped around a small waist as their lips began to briefly connect in sweet kisses, which grew in frequency and intensity as they felt each other up, running their hands under clothes, kneading skin as their hips grew bolder in causing friction. Gin's hands dipped into the back of his pants, faintly amused that he wasn't wearing any underwear, and gave those small but firm globes a squeeze, spreading them apart and teasing his entrance with a nail.

Squirming in his lap with arousal, distracted by that sinful finger tormenting his anus, Toshiro was completely preoccupied enough to let Gin take control of him. Swiftly, he latched onto his hips with an iron grip and forced him off his lap, setting him down harshly onto his desk with enough force to possibly put a bruise there later, but that was nothing new compared to how many times they've done this, or the many other kinks they've explored. Screwing his lover in a place of business was practically a staple for them, though Toshiro would sometimes complain about the snake watching, which was just silly to him. A snake was a snake, not a rabid, voyeuristic, drooling fangirl. So what if the snake was female? Poor Shinzou-chan was so unloved...

He took a few seconds to pull out lubricant hiding in the first drawer to his right, and put the tube aside. That was for later, when they were naked and Toshiro was a hot mess panting underneath him. Gin grew impatient with just kisses and touches, and led the way to more frantic actions. They went about removing their clothes; popping a few buttons, tugging at the rim of their pants, pulling at shoes, and tossing socks until they were both completely bare. Gin was the only thing close to the exception since he was still wearing a pendant, a multi-colored obsidian butterfly. He had given one to Toshiro, naturally, but the masseuses chose not to wear it, something about hanging it in his car. He wasn't complaining, though. It was a very nice car, good front seat for giving head, and an incredibly loud backseat that made for great sex. Almost better than his office... Almost.

Gin flipped him over, and immediately Toshiro got on his knees, lifting his ass into the air and pinning his chest against the surface as he presented him with his prize, like a cat lifting it's butt when it was scratched. Small hands grabbed the opposite edge, knowing and anticipating with bated breath what was going to happen next. The cool, wet finger wormed its way inside him, wriggling with little effort to get him properly slick. The intrusion was welcomed and familiar. He opened himself to it and it relaxed him long enough for Gin to slip in another digit. The silver-haired man palmed his cheeks, separating them to get his finger further inside and penetrate deeper, hooking his knuckles inward in search for that pleasurable spot he knew so well. He loved the feeling of those soft muscles, how they relaxed and made room for him to plunge inside just a little bit more, or the walls massaging the sides of his cock, urging more blood to rush into it. Most of all he loved the vice-like grip Toshiro's ass clamped onto him when he was coming into a climax. He wanted that so badly, and now, he dug a little more forcefully inside him, determined to open him up enough so he could get those muscles to swallow him again.

The surrounding, anal tissue tightened around his fingers and Gin paused, looking down at that shivering body and gazing intently as the spasm traveled up and down his body, causing his legs and back and arms to jerk in utter arousal. It was just the reaction he was hoping for. He pulled him back until his legs were no longer supported, and the edge dug into his stomach. Toshiro's toes could barely brush the floor, and his hands lay flat on the desk, unable to have anything else to hold onto, though he did attempt to spread his legs a little further to open up, petting his lover's outer thigh with his foot.

Urgently lubing his arousal with a few quick stokes, and maybe to jerk off a little at the beautiful sight in front of him, Gin threw the tube elsewhere, behind him probably, he didn't pay attention to it's exact location, there were more important bits to focus on like his boyfriend spread open in front of him. He rubbed the skin of that plush ass, until the pale tone on both globes were now dusted a deep shade of pink, and Toshiro was nothing more than a pile of squirming moans. Unable to resist any longer, he took ahold of himself, and gently pushed in, popping the head past the ring of his entrance with little to no resistance. The moan was louder now, reverberating off the walls of his office as that deceptively tiny hole sucked him in further, and Gin couldn't stop his own voice from rising at the feeling as those familiar muscles clapped down around him as tightly as he predicted. Hell, he wasn't even in all the way when his dick hit a particularly sensitive bundle of nerves, provoking a shout of coital ecstasy from the smaller man under him, his head thrown back and his chest moving with his rapid breathing.

Gin leant down to trace kisses along the path of his spine, grabbing his hip with one hand and his hair in the other to prevent his upper half from falling back onto the desk. He was just about to start fucking that very spot when his office door suddenly burst open.

"Ichimaru-san, are you okay? I thought I heard..."

If looks could kill. Toshiro was so overrun with lust and sensory overload, he either barely noticed, or didn't care that Gin's manager had accidentally interrupted them, but Gin was fully aware and was now shooting daggers. "Kira Izuru, what's the meaning of this?"

The poor blond sweat-dropped as he blushed deeply. "I.. I'm sorry! I thought I heard a scream and came to check on you, and WOW that wasn't you, was it-" Now he was just babbling, repeatedly bowing, and keeping his eyes everywhere except the two on and behind the desk. The owner has had enough of this, and sternly interrupted his embarrassed employee so he could get on with screwing his boy-toy.

"Izuru-chan. If there is no urgent business to attend to, I must return to more pressing matters, like my nearly comatose partner. I'm sure you understand?"

Sensing the evil tone underlining those words, Izuru bowed again. "Actually there is one matter, but it can wait until you're... done. Sorry for the interruption, please enjoy the rest of your time." And with that he made a hasty exit, closing the door behind him, Gin could also hear Kira turn the lock so that no one else would do the same. Kira was the only one with a set of keys to his office, so he trusted they would remain undisturbed.

Looking down at his white-haired captive, he could see that some of the sex luster had unclouded his teal orbs at his lack of movement, and Gin shook his head his disapproval. "That won't do." He twitched his hips, very aware that he was still rubbing against that sensitive spot, and he grinned as Toshiro began to moan again, arching his back and using his lower body to try lifting his ass a little more, to get him to pound into that place. Keeping his penis pressed between the desk and his belly, and letting his entire front flop back down onto the desk with a dead thunk, Gin lifted Toshiro's legs at the bend so his knees were on either side of him, and punched into him again, smirking at the sweet cry of pleasure from such a beautiful voice.

The recipient of Gin's continuous, evil treatment of that hard, thick cock banging into those aroused nerves cried out in pain and pleasure and frustration at not being able to release. He was so close, he could feel his rectum spasm in need of glorified completion, and that could only happen if his god would just fucking let him cum! There were no words he could formulate into a coherent sentence, even when he was on the cusp of begging for Gin to turn him around and go even deeper, to free his imprisoned arousal so he could finally spill his overloading sacs onto the both of them. What the fuck was taking Gin so long to realize this?

Gin realized it, he knew his lover's body very well, but he'd wanted to put Toshiro through a bit of torture anyway, just because he was that sort of person, and his lover knew that, too. Maybe when he was thinking straight, he would realize this. Sure, he'd be in for it the next time they had a go-around, but it was well worth it if he could have this moment now, right here, with Toshiro looking so irresistible in front of him. There was something scrumptious about seeing how vulnerable he was when Gin restrained him like this, and he didn't know why, but Toshiro played into it, sometimes acting more hurt or needy than he really was just to get him riled, but there was genuine need in his moans, grunts and pants this time around to make him want to comply with his unspoken wishes. In truth, he could never deny his lover anything he wished, but he could prolong the time before he would received it.

Reluctantly pulling out of that tight heat, he ignored Toshiro's whine, and flexing his muscles, he grabbed his body and roughly turned him over, pushing him up so that his butt was on the surface, and spread his legs wide. His nails tickled the skin on the back of his thighs and earned a shudder. His cock was at attention, rock solid and ready to erupt at the slightest touch, so he didn't give it so much as a speck of thought. Instead he climbed onto the desk with him, keeping Toshiro's legs wide open, he bent his body until his knees were pushed against the wooden surface by his head as he knelt over him. That ass was on perfect display, and Gin ogled it a little, letting one of the knees go, placing Toshiro's hand on it, to rub the surface of the hole lovingly. Toshiro was making those noises again, like he was going to pop at any second, and he wanted to be inside him when he did, so he no longer felt the need to torture him any further unless he wanted to torture himself.

He slid into him again, the new angle pulling at his cock and milking him harder than he anticipated, and making him want to spill himself inside Toshiro even more urgently. He resisted as best he could, but when his lover finally came, when his seed spilled onto that pale stomach, chest and face, and when that ass pulled him in deeper, his walls squeezing him with unbelievable strength, Gin was done for. Sinking fully into him, until his balls were flush with his backside nearly trying to press into that hole, and their hips leaving no room to get any closer, he released. Spurt after seemingly never-ending spurt shot into that hungrily awaiting, sucking anus. His body shuddered, every part of him tensed as he filled him to the brim, pulling some of it out when he was finally able to pull his body away, boneless, and flopped back into his chair like a limp noodle.

Toshiro's legs hung off the desk as he tried to sit up, his backside burning with the effort, but pleasantly satiated. It had been a long time since he had actually felt any pain as a direct consequence of how brutal or twisted his position and treatment was. His body thrummed with the afterglow and his ass stung with tiny pinpricks of having his pleasure spent. Sighing and wiping the sweat off his brow, Toshiro once again went to sit in Gin's lap, giving his slow, lazy kisses. They sat there for a while, entangled in each other as they enjoyed the aftershocks of their mind blowing intercourse, until Toshiro felt satiated enough to sit up and pat his arm.

"You should probably get back to work... Didn't Kira-kun say he had something to discuss with you?"

Gin was surprised. "You were still conscious when he came in?"

His lover shrugged, hopping off his lap to collect a towel Gin always kept in the closet for such occasions, and dried himself off before starting to put his clothes on. "Vaguely." By the time Gin managed to sit upright in his chair, Toshiro was already dressed and running his hands through his hair in an attempt to put the spikes in some sort of order. "Most of my thoughts had been thrown out the window by that point, but your lack of movement did clear my head a bit, or at least well enough to understand." He handed the towel to the grinning fox. "Come on, you lazy bum."

He took the towel, but he also made sure to take Toshiro's wrist and pull him down for another few minutes of kissing before he actually got up and started to make himself presentable. His mind wandered as he got ready, and as his lover helped to keep at least his body on track. Thinking back on a few nights ago, he entertained the idea of having the Berry in that same position, or maybe having him against the glass of his snake's cage, or maybe letting him take complete control again... Yeah, that painted a really nice picture... Actually, the better picture was Toshiro being the one up against the cage, while Ichigo fucked him silly. He could feel the drool start to pool already, and drip at the corner of his mouth.

Toshiro waited a few minutes for him and then slapped him upside the head. "You're drooling. Stop those perverted fantasies right now."

He shrugged. "I can't help it! It just happens every time we screw on my desk!" He wiggled his eyebrows. "You'd be thinking along those same lines if Berry were in your head, too." His lover paused in his scolding and took on a glazed look as he thought about those very same possibilities. Knowing he'd won the argument, Gin planted a kiss on his head, and strolled out of the office with a satisfied grin.

After stretching and walking to work out the kinks in his legs, he went to find Izuru, whom was at his desk in his office just down the hall for his own. Seeing no sign of Toshiro nearby, he thought maybe he was still daydreaming, and softly rapped on the blonde's door to get his attention. The man looked up to see who it was, and when he spotted Gin waving hello at him, he immediately stood up and bowed in respect to his employer, profusely apologizing again for his earlier actions. Gin scratched the back of his head and bent over in an attempt to make eye-contact with his manager.

"Oiya, Izuru-kun, Chillax. Yer too stressed out." He walked over and tapped the lowered head. "Ya said ya needed to talk to me 'bout something when I finished. I'm finished. Whatch'ya need?"

He paused in his bowing for a few seconds, and then straightened up when he remembered for the first time that he actually had some business to clear with him. "Oh." He rifled through sheaves of paper. "The band playing tomorrow night canceled. We need a new one. Our talent scout picked a few up, but I didn't really look them over. I thought you might want to do that." He eventually found the folder that carried all the information on the band candidates as well as a photo. There were four possibilities in all, and Gin made sure to take his time to study each and every one of them. Coming to the last one in the folder, his trademarked closed eyes opened and he fully let the smile take over his face. Izuru didn't know what he saw, but it must've been something priceless to see his eyes glow with glee like that. The silver-haired man tossed it back onto the desk, pointing at the picture.

"Them."

Laying in the open folder was the band of choice, IRRIS, along with the picture of the group, including a very serious-looking Berry-head.

-X-

Ichigo was jolted awake as his phone blared a techno/rock tune as an alarm, echoing in the empty space and waking him to the stale air of a cold crime scene. This was the fourth night in the past week, Monday to Monday, that he happened to doze off here at this very spot, and he was beginning to think that he was starting to spend more time here than at his actual apartment with his three roommates. Of course, his roommates also know that he sometimes stays out all night, but they don't usually know the truth, instead telling them that he stays over at a friend's place, and it's become such a staple, so common and routine, they rarely ever question him about it anymore.

Grumbling at the noise, he fumbled to push a sleepy hand inside his pocket, grabbed the troublesome device that was disturbing the quiet grave site of his former lover and the only people he considered family, and managed to shut the thing off after his slightly numb fingers had several failed tries. Lifting his head off the carpet, where an imprint marked the side of his cheek, he looked around, trying to chase away the remainder of sleep. At some point, he'd rolled over in his sleep, and now lay almost directly on top of the stain he'd fallen asleep next to, as if by trying to get closer to it, it would mean getting closer to heaven, the closest a still-beating heart would ever get to its long departed other half. His chest and body were facing the floor, while his head had been turned to the side, but his disheveled hair and clothes, as well as the burn of carpet dots on his arms, suggested he'd moved about quite a bit in his sleep. He couldn't remember having any dreams, but he still felt tired and fatigued. Another fitful sleep.

Mustering up as much strength as he could, he rolled onto his back and pushed himself up, slumping over as he brought his phone to his face. It went off at its regular time, two hours and fifteen minutes before he had to get to work. He wasn't going to work today, though. And as much as he wanted to stay here and spend time with what was left of the only person on this planet that he would ever love, he couldn't stay here, he had a doctor's appointment for this very purpose.

Annoyed with himself for agreeing to such an early morning appointment, he worked on getting his body to move correctly, fist to stand up, second to maintain his balance, and thirdly to stretch his limbs and walk around. It was a habitual course of action he usually took when he spent the night here, but one fitful, dreamless sleep was better than a thousand nights of chronic nightmares waking him up in the wee hours of the morning. There were no guessing what those nightmares were about. Kaien. Everything about him. The most common were of his death, and his imagination took over with every detail despite what the news had reported about the situation, or what little information Kaien's family was willing to part with him considering their surmountable dislike of him. It was stupid and crazy to have dreams about a situation he had no control over, but neither was it possible to have control over his subconscious.

Sometimes, like recently, his dreams came to him in the form of memories, and those were the worst of all to endure. All of their little spats, victories, habits and quirks. And especially terrible to endure were the emotions, the late nights spent in each other's beds, the physical memory of screwing one another senseless. It made him angry, and rather than bend over and blubber inanities, he got violent, just like he was feeling now. Unfortunately, his bottle of medication lay empty in his book bag, and he wouldn't be able to receive more until he visited his doctor in a couple hours, so he let out his rage in a different, more old fashioned way. Grabbing an old, dusty pillow off the undisturbed couch with both hands, he abandoned those modern ideals of pills and breathing exercises, deciding to handle his emotions another way.

Raising the pillow slowly, he poured all of his tension, grief, and rage into them, tightening his fists before he let lose. Dust flew into the air as the pillow met the couch with all of Ichigo's might, the loud thunk resounding mutely in the apartment. The bolt of satisfaction that raced down his spine encouraged another hit, and each hit afterward. Ichigo let loose with rapid movement, ignoring the feathers now cluttering up the area and the stuffing poking out of the couch, his arms bulged with the effort to keep at it with increased strength.

Thirty minutes later, with loss of breath and his body worn out, but his mental state completely satisfied, Ichigo staggered towards his bag, physically and emotionally spent. He didn't quite make it there, distracted by that very same stain he'd slept next to. Briefly, he knelt down, giving it a soft kiss good-bye that would promise his return either tonight or the next one, his hand coming up to caress it as he leaned forehead against it. He felt comforted, safe, relaxed, all his rage ebbed away, and he dappled in deluding himself to thinking that maybe Kaien's spirit might be hanging around to give him peace, because whenever he left, his emotions and feelings seemed to stay behind, Allowing him to get through his day as monotonously as possible. A perfect face that no one had to worry about.

Taking a breath to strengthen his resolve, an action he will never allow himself to admit to his doctor, or his dumb-ass therapist, he left his heart here on this spot before getting up and returning his attention to his bag and phone. It was an hour and forty-five minutes before work, but thankfully Rangiku was the one that answered and would cover for him so he wouldn't get into trouble for calling in too late, and with that small comfort in mind, he walked out of the apartment, securing the door as he left. If he took one more look at that carpet, he wouldn't be going anywhere for the rest of the day, and he couldn't afford to do that, even though he had the night off from any classes. Tuesdays were the worst.

Twenty minutes later, he walked out of the coffee shop carrying a carton of three freshly made coffees and a bright orange box containing a dozen doughnuts. This was a routine for him, every visit he made to Unohana, he would bring treats as a thank you for taking so much care in him and as an apology for dumping all of his problems on her. He should have just called Yoruichi, he did have her number and she was he head of the psychology building he went to. What better way to warrant their forgiveness than pastries and caffeinated beverages? Several of the doughnuts he bought were chocolate, he made sure to cover that angle pretty well. As long as they would agree to assign him a different therapist that actually helped him make a dent in sorting out his racing thoughts in the end, and refill his medication to help with his moderate rage issues, he would be willing do anything they would ask of him.

His pocket vibrated as a heavy rock song from their band pierced through his speculation. Judging by that tune, there was only one person it could be that was calling, and he didn't want to miss it. The band's leader and vocal front man, Renji Abarai, wouldn't usually call him at this time of day, usually because he was working, or Renji was working, so it peaked his interest as to what might have happened in the last ten minutes that couldn't wait until later in the day. He gently set down the box of bakery goods and coffee on a bench, sitting next to them with a hand thrown over the curved back and his leg casually draping over the other.

"Renji."

"Yo!" The groggy voice suggested he only recently just woke up, but the enthusiasm in his tone said that he was wide awake and ready for the day. Ichigo lifted an eyebrow at the perky word of choice. "You free this afternoon and evening? Everyone else said they are."

No, he didn't have anything planned as far as tonight was concerned, maybe drop by the apartment... "Yeah, I'm free. What's up?"

"We have a gig tonight!"

Both eyebrows were now raised. "That's a little sudden."

"Yeah... A club in The District, on Shinigami St. to be precise."

"No way, don't tell me it's the one I'm thinking of..."

"I dunno, might be... Ever hear of a little place known as The Seireitei?"

Both of Ichigo's eyebrows were now up to his hairline in surprise, if that were possible. He remembered that place, alright, it was only the most posh place in that entire city block to hang out. Ichigo had been there three years ago during its grand opening, and not once did its popularity diminish in the slightest since. They even gave out rare pendents as a promotional gift to random people, and one of them had been him. The gift was a carve butterfly from rainbow obsidian imported from Mexico. Because that was what the Court of Pure Souls' mascot was, a dark butterfly said to have been so inky black, it must have drifted up from the deepest part of hell, carrying with it muted colors of a once vibrant rainbow behind it.

"That stage is booked solid for the next year and a half. How did you manage to swing that?"

Renji chuckled nervously. "Nothing of my making, really. Complete. Dumb. Luck. The band that was supposed to play there was in a car accident and had to cancel."

"Will they pull through?"

"No. One of them died and two others are in critical condition." There was a pause in the conversation as there were things rustling around in the background. He assumed Renji was changing, so he took this time to send his heart out to those broken band members and their loss. "Anyway, the owner suggested our name. And not ten minutes ago, I get a call from the manager to come in for the night."

"What strings did you have to pull in order to get us on the list?"

"Actually, the manager and I used to go to school together, we were in the same class and pretty much best buds." Ichigo vaguely remember meeting the blonde man once, a nervous and jittery person to the core. Seeing the both of them as friends was kind of a funny picture. "But we lost contact for a while and weren't able to hook up, so he didn't know until he saw my name that I was in the band. Regardless of my relationship with Izuru, I was going to ask you if you managed to bump into the big cheese himself at some point and maybe put the bug in his ear, though judging from your reaction, I'd say you were just as surprised as I was."

He had that right. If Ichigo had, he would've remembered, that was for damn sure. "No, I haven't. This is huge news, Ren."

There was a grunt of concurrence. "That's why I wanted you here at around noon, so we could go over the set list and set up until everyone else drifted in, have a practice session or two, and then get everything packed up and shipped out for tonight. You game?"

It was roughly seven-thirty in the morning now, but he doubted his appointment would last four hours, and even if he was sent to see Yoruichi right away, he doubt it would take that long as well. Yeah, he was free. "I'm game."

"Awesome. I'll call Izuru back right now. Knowing him, he hasn't changed since high school, so he's probable biting his nails and pacing a hole into the floor."

"See you then."

Ichigo stuffed his phone back into his pocket, once again taking up his packages with all of this new information in mind. Unohana would be happy to hear this, as well as Yoruichi. A good distraction from the past is a successful career in the present. That's what Yoruichi had vouched. It was nice, but that's all it was, a distraction. When he came face to face with the issue of his dead lover, he completely forgot about it. Inside that apartment door, it quit being the most important thing in his life.

Doctor Retsu Unohana's office was approximately the same distance from the coffee shop as his work, in the opposite direction. As soon as he entered the building, he let the familiar decor wash over him with a warm, fuzzy feeling, something that had been totally lost on him whenever he'd been in his father's clinic. While his father had preferred neutral colors of beige and off-white, this waiting room was draped in soothing tones of dark and mint greens. Children could play in the corner at a clean table, and the adults waited along the wall in plushy chairs. He shook his head. Sometimes he really needed to get his father out of his head. They weren't going to see each other ever again, so there was no reason for him to compare an office he was never going to see again, yet he does it anyway. It really is true what they say about nostalgia when it comes to rare happy memories with family.

Ichigo grinned down at the lady attending the desk this morning, pushing away those memories with an iron wall. There will be time for those later, unfortunately. "Good morning, Isane-san!" He lowered both the box and one of the cups onto her desk, mindful of her work. "Breakfast blend, black, no sugar, and with a shot of espresso. Right?"

She giggled and took the cup. "Thank you, you're too sweet."

He shrugged. "Eh... When I want to be." He nodded toward the office. "Unohana in?" She nodded, picking through the selection of munchies hidden away in the box. "Is she mad?" Isane tilted her hand from side to side as she bit into a pink-iced doughnut with sprinkles. "Guess I should make up to her with sugar and carbs, huh...?" She once again nodded, taking a swig from her cup.

Everything was familiar to him, every inch of this space he knew well, so he went about grabbing a small plate, putting Unohana's iced caramel mocha onto a side of it, enough to have room for three doughnuts to fit on there. Making sure one of them was a chocolate one, he grabbed his own off the desk and made his way down the small hallway that consisted of an official check-up room, a closet, and a lab before he reached Unohana's work space at the very end. He made sure his footsteps were extra quiet when he approached, with no hint of intended rudeness in his approach. He didn't want to interrupt her in case she was in the middle of some important work, or if someone unexpectedly stayed longer than they were supposed to concerning any additional health knowledge about their condition. He didn't like eavesdropping, from people or himself.

He glanced around the corner of her open door to make sure no one was inside, just enough so he could quickly duck back out if they turned around. It was just Unohana, her only company the folder of sheets spread across her desk. It was safe for him to enter, so he cleared his throat to let her know he was here, and she waved him in. Clearing her desktop of all the papers, she made room for him to set her food and drink in front of her, which she accepted with a kind smile.

"Hello, Ichigo." Unohana was always somewhat like a mother figure in his mind. She was caring, sweet and very loyal to all her patients. She didn't care too much about money, which is why he was able to go to her in the first place, he was always very nearly broke. Also, he'd lost his mom at such a young age. He barely remembered her, but from how Unohana acted, they were quite similar. Even their smiles. There was a smile for every occasion, and Ichigo had learned very quickly what each one meant. Even if she were enraged, borderline homicidal, Unohana would get a dead look in her eye, as if her soulless gaze would be enough to chill someone to the bone, she would hollow out her voice and ask just the right question to scare the piss out of you. Ichigo got chills just thinking about it, even as the woman in front of him tilted her head in wonderment at Ichigo's current thought process.

He bowed politely. "Sorry for my sudden text last night. I know you prefer calls rather than impersonal messaging."

She shook her head at his apology. "It's fine. Have a seat." He did so as a delicate, manicured hand went straight for the chocolate doughnut. All was forgiven. "You need a refill prescription, a change of psychiatrist, and a doctor's note for work, yes?"

She was as perceptive as always. He never told her he had to work, just that he was free, but he might have just gone ahead and bluntly stated out loud that he was going to skip. Women's intuition, he wouldn't ever have the ability to understand it... unless they made an accessory for it. Sensitivity ring: increases intuition level to that of a female. Side effect: forty percent probability for growing boobs with each use.

Those were the only things she asked, and the only things he came for, but this morning's tantrum weighed heavily in the back of his mind. Ichigo hadn't had his last dose this morning, and he was starting to feel it, especially when he was in Unohana's presence. Restless and internal struggling and a blind eye on everything else happening around him, he could feel the rage and irritation start to flame in the pit of his stomach. He was annoyed with himself because he didn't contact Unohana sooner so that it wouldn't have happened, and anger because he should have known better than to think he would be able to skip one dose and be as dandy as a flower. He'd tried it before, why does he insist on trying it again when he knows it'll end up with him lashing out at someone, in a fight or in a verbal debate didn't matter. It matters because it happens at all.

Ichigo fell back into a chair with his cup in hand, lifting his legs to sit on them. "I had another episode this morning."

She didn't seem surprised, only holding out her palm, waiting for him to give her something. He knew what she wanted, and only spent a minute rummaging around his backpack for the empty container his medications used to reside in. After dropping the light container into her awaiting hand, she turned it around to check the label for a few moments before turning her full attention back to Ichigo and his story.

"Continue."

Unable to look her in the eye, his head fell back as his eyes rolled up into his eyelids, trying with futility to do those ridiculous breathing exercises. "I awoke from sleep feeling great, but... Somehow, somewhere along the line, I became angry."

She pawed through her desk drawer, urging him to keep remembering. "Were you having nightmares again?"

"No."

"Were you able to dream at all?"

"No."

Taking out a prescription pad and the pill bottle, she set the little orange canister aside but kept the notepad free of any writing until Ichigo was ready to leave. She gazed at him with a critical eye, trying to decipher what truly must have set him off. Unfortunately, she was not good with studying the mind, only the body and how it works. Hoping Ichigo was going to be a little more open with her, she leaned forward, her hands clasping the coffee. "What happened?"

Ichigo was looking into his cup, slightly embarrassed that had to give a play-by-play for those few minutes he lost all control, and a bit worried he might lose control again if he thought too deeply about it. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt anyone, so he chose his words carefully. "It's kind of like a double-edged sword... I was mad because I didn't have a good dream, but at the same time I would have been angry if I did had one. I didn't have any medication left, so I got increasingly irritated, and the next thing I know, I'm bashing a pillow against the couch until all the stuffing came out." He sighed, putting his coffee back onto the desk, no longer able to drink something so casually during such a deep consultation. "Thinking on it now still gets me angry, at myself, at the past, and at everyone who coddles me to satiate their worries."

Unohana opened the pill bottle and gave him a small pellet, which he took gratefully and swallowed it down, chased by a sip of his coffee to make sure it stayed there. They sat for a few minutes in silence until the pill took effect, and the tension visibly drained from his shoulders, arms and neck. He felt slightly annoyed, but that was a fair amount better than the rage that was coursing through him a few moments ago. He was a little wary or that pad in front of her, because they'd tried to change his prescription before to help with his depression, and it had failed in a disastrous way, instead spiraling him down further in the opposite direction it was supposed to take, he got sick, and even attempted suicide. His current dosage, however, took away the need for suicide and the extreme rage, but he was still depressed. He'd already managed to work past the strange side effects that went with his current medication, he didn't really want to go through that again.

His doctor tapped the end of her pen against the paper, holding up head in her other hand, supported with her elbow on her desk. "And what is this that Rangiku tells me about your tryst a couple of nights ago?"

"A distraction."

"Is it working?"

"No."

"But you are going to continue it?"

"Yes."

She tilted her head, pondering his short answers and annoyed look. "If it doesn't work, why?"

"I don't know."

Ichigo slumped a little more in the chair, thinking about that night and the morning after, the events that happened in between, an the people he'd spent it with. Toshiro seemed like a serious person, while Gin was all fun and games. In their case, opposites attracted, but what made them attracted to him? Where does the third wheel fit in? And why was he eager to go back and spend the night with them again?

Her eyes narrowed at his contemplation, trying to decide if it would be right to question him more, but eventually finalized that she didn't have that ability, and she wrote down on the pad, which peaked her patient's curiosity enough to pull him out of his inner brooding.

"I'll give you the same prescription for a week with two refills, and set up an appointment for you and Yoruichi tomorrow." She grinned as she tore off the sheet and gave it to him. "I also assume you'll want me to write you a doctor's note for skipping out on work, yes?"

He chuckled, taking hold of the paper. "You always know my schedule... That's so creepy. But if Rangiku keeps you apprised of it, then I guess I shouldn't be. You suggested this time, which means you wanted me to not go to work if you already knew, right?"

She smiled fully, scribbling down a quick note. "Nonsense." Translation: Yep. Ichigo took the note, gratefully. "I'll talk to Yoruichi-San about a different therapist and text you an appointment time, okay?" He nodded.

Ichigo stood up and bowed to her. "Thank you, Retsu." She waved his gratitude away with a lazy hand.

"It's my pleasure. Thank you for the coffee and doughnuts." He reciprocated her wave as he sat back down.

"It's no problem."

After talking a little more about his band's abrupt gig and the threats he had promised on Rangiku's pretty head, Unohana pardoned him, they said their goodbyes and parted ways. He said goodbye to Isane, the girl giving him a hug as her mouth was full of doughnut once again, and left the comfort of the office, intending to go straight to the pharmacy and then back to his shared apartment to get his things ready for their afternoon and evening rehearsals. Aside from the two he just bedded, this career of his was also a distraction, but this one was actually working, because if there was anything he loved secondly or just as much as Kaien, it was music.

On the way back to his apartment, with a full pill bottle and a few bottles of water, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Wondering what Renji needed now, he sighed and took out his cell phone. Blinking, because he didn't recognize the number, he chose the option to view the text, and he was glad he did. It was from Gin. There had been no time for him to gather their numbers when he left that morning, so he tapped his screen to quickly save this one. The text had asked for him to meet up with them tonight, a guys night out to be specific. If there was any place he should think to go with them, it would have to be where he would be playing, because he wouldn't be free any other way, and he didn't want that. He didn't know why, but he wanted to be available to them whenever they asked. It was a strange feeling he couldn't quite interpret quite yet, something he was unable to fully grasp in complete understanding, so maybe spending more time with them will help clear up exactly what that feeling was.

He texted back, hoping they weren't assuming he was being rude. "Meet at The Seireitei? At nine tonight?" Nodding with approval, he tapped the virtual send button on his screen. Barely two seconds went by before he was given a reply. Gazing down at the text, he grinned.

"Sounds perfect."

* * *

AN: Yay! Another chapter finished! Now I really need to work on Mirage and Untitled Preface... After I finished a few paragraphs of this story's next chapter... XD Please tell me what you all think about my writing! I really want to know what goes through your heads as you read it.


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